Words worth understanding
Start with the thought in plain English. Then explore the imagery, a practical example, when to use it, and what the saying does not mean.
4,000 entries with editorial explanations. The wider collection also contains entries still awaiting an individual interpretation.
proverb · Traditional
The saying divides people after thirty into fools or physicians. It exaggerates an expectation that age should bring knowledge of oneself.
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A task benefits from attention to the skills it requires. The saying favours relevant expertise but should not prevent someone learning beyond their present occupation.
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The saying calls every problem a gift and makes problems necessary for growth. It turns difficulty into an opportunity through an absolute claim.
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An arrangement that suits one person may not suit another. Judge the fit to the individual or task instead of assuming one successful solution works everywhere.
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What people see you do can teach more powerfully than what you tell them to do. Let your conduct support your instructions rather than expecting words alone to establish a useful habit.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Learning through your own mistakes can be costly, yet people often take a lesson seriously only after experiencing its consequences. Consider whether you could learn earlier from advice or another person’s experience.
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Experience teaching after the test reverses the order of a lesson and examination. It pictures understanding gained after facing an actual situation.
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The saying calls experience the father of wisdom. It imagines encounters and practice as giving rise to sound judgment.
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The saying makes experience a teacher who tests before giving a lesson. It contrasts learning through consequences with instruction received in advance.
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The saying sharply criticises people who ignore guidance and learn only after a mistake affects them. Take relevant warnings seriously instead of requiring every lesson to arrive through your own setback.
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Explaining to someone described as ignorant compared with making a camel jump exaggerates the difficulty of communication. The saying treats understanding as a demanding undertaking.
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The saying separates an unsuccessful event from the person who experiences it. A disappointing result need not become someone’s whole identity.
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The saying portrays failure as nature’s preparation for greater responsibility. It offers a hopeful purpose for a disappointing result.
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The saying treats failure as an opening for a better-informed new beginning. It emphasises reflection before another attempt.
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Calling failure tuition compares an unsuccessful attempt with the cost of learning. It suggests that a setback may offer useful experience.
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The saying makes failures mileposts on a road to success. It gives setbacks a place within an ongoing attempt rather than treating them as its final meaning.
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The saying follows seven falls with eight rises. It urges renewed effort after setbacks through an exaggerated count.
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Learn the basic steps before attempting a more demanding task. Gradual preparation can help, while the appropriate starting point depends on the learner and the skill involved.
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The saying makes the first step the hardest. It emphasises the difficulty of beginning an unfamiliar undertaking.
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A method suited to one purpose may be useless for another. Choose an approach that fits the task rather than repeating a familiar technique regardless of what it can achieve.
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An early sign can give reason to expect a later result. Flowers stand for the promise of fruit, while the saying should not be read as a guarantee that a promising beginning will reach completion.
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Following a coherent course can lead towards its larger destination. The river image values continuity and direction, without proving that every path reaches a desired result or supplying reliable travel instructions.
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Fools paired with scissors as needing careful handling makes a person and a sharp tool share a warning. The saying favours care when an interaction may have consequences.
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Fools appearing wise while silent contrasts an impression with knowledge that has not been expressed. The saying questions judgment made from quietness alone.
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