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
Caring for children brings responsibilities, while the comfort a parent hopes to receive from them cannot be guaranteed. The saying contrasts present duties with uncertain future expectations, rather than defining children as a debt owed to adults.
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Children’s dependence can change form as they grow: the image moves from being physically nurtured to drawing on family resources.
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An unpromising beginning need not determine how the rest of an experience develops. The cloudy-morning image encourages leaving room for improvement, while it should not be treated as a weather forecast or a promise that every difficulty ends well.
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Coffee described through hell, death and love combines darkness, strength and sweetness in an extravagant preference. The saying celebrates a vivid sensory ideal.
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The saying pairs a cold complexion with good condition. It gives a favourable judgment to one described quality without explaining the criterion or setting.
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A community needs practical provision before it can sustain its larger activities. Shared ambitions depend on attending to ordinary needs such as food, facilities and daily organisation.
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Repeated practice can become so familiar that it feels natural. Second nature describes that acquired ease, without proving that a habit is good, unchangeable or shared by everyone.
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The saying calls disease a tax that pleasure may bring. It gives enjoyment the image of a later cost without specifying the activity or a proven connection.
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Do not make accumulating wealth so dominant that you deny yourself a worthwhile life now. Saving has a purpose, and that purpose can be lost if resources are never allowed to support living.
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The saying asks someone not to cry over milk already spilled. It encourages attention to what remains possible after an event cannot be undone.
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The saying discourages crying over milk already spilled. It asks for attention to what can still be done after an irreversible loss.
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A grave dug with a knife and fork makes eating implements an image of contributing to one’s own downfall. The warning is expressed through food and mortality.
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Windows too small for sunlight make a home closed to illumination. The saying asks for enough openness to admit light.
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The saying borrows the drink-like-a-fish image but adds water only. It changes the familiar heavy-drinking comparison through an explicit restriction.
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The saying gives water and wine different models of drinking: an ox and a king of Spain. It contrasts an animal image with a royal one without specifying amounts.
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A simple life in a place where you feel at home may be preferable to greater luxury elsewhere. Comfort and belonging can matter more than the richness of the offering.
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The rhyme links early sleep and waking with health, wealth and wisdom. It compresses three desired outcomes into one timing prescription.
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The saying links an early bedtime and early rising with health, wealth and wisdom. It praises a daily routine through three promised benefits.
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The saying recommends eating a small amount before drinking. Its brief instruction gives an order of activities without explaining the reason or identifying the drink.
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The saying contrasts freedom in eating with restraint in drinking. Pleasure and measure give two activities different limits rather than one shared rule.
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The saying pictures an empty bag unable to stand upright. In the supplied reading, it points to the support a person needs to function.
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The saying praises England as an ideal place for women. Its sweeping national compliment leaves individual circumstances and the standard of comparison unstated.
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Even someone regarded as unsophisticated may recognise a practical need. The cloak in rain illustrates elementary precaution, while the saying’s dismissive label should not be used to judge a person’s worth or ability.
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A scar remaining after a wound heals gives past harm an image of continuing effects. The saying distinguishes an ended event from everything it leaves behind.
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