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 suggests that people who speak without calculated restraint may reveal what others conceal. It does not make children or people dismissed as fools automatically reliable witnesses.
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Comparison distinguished from proof separates a suggestive resemblance from sufficient evidence. The saying questions a conclusion established only by analogy.
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The saying pairs confession with hanging. It pictures admission followed by severe punishment, giving honesty an apparently dangerous consequence.
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Admitting an earlier mistake can show that you have learned, rather than merely expose a weakness. Revising a judgment in response to better understanding is a sign of progress.
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Acknowledging a mistake can begin repairing its effect. An honest admission matters because it creates room for responsibility, though further action may still be needed.
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A secret given to an unworthy person compared with grain in a holed bag pictures information escaping an entrusted container. The saying asks whether confidentiality is supported by the arrangement.
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Careless words can create constraints for their speaker. Confining the tongue pictures restraint before a statement produces consequences that are harder to manage.
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Clever avoidance does not turn an inaccurate account into a truthful one. Consider whether an answer addresses the substance of the question rather than merely finding words that sidestep it.
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Damaged trust or reputation may be harder to repair than to preserve. The broken glass pictures that fragility, warning about consequences without claiming that one mistake permanently destroys someone’s credibility or makes rebuilding trust impossible.
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People owed something may remember an obligation more keenly than those who must meet it. Do not assume that your forgetfulness means the other person has forgotten too.
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The saying puts Cry you mercy beside a question about who killed the speaker’s cat. A courteous or apologetic opening is immediately followed by a serious complaint.
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The saying compares curses with chickens returning to roost. It imagines hostile words or wishes coming back to affect their source.
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The saying links death with silence about events. It points to the loss of a person’s ability to give their own account.
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Democracy described as the worst despotism presents an extreme criticism of a political form. The supplied wording attributes the statement to Aristotle.
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Dirt sticking to innocent people pictures accusations or reputational damage affecting someone who has done no wrong. The saying distinguishes stigma from guilt.
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Dismissing apparent absurdity warned to obstruct understanding asks a reader to examine before rejecting. The saying gives unfamiliar or puzzling ideas a chance to be considered.
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The saying makes distance improve the view. It suggests that something remote may appear more attractive when details are less visible.
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The speaker demands that instructions be followed even when their own conduct differs. The saying exposes a gap between a stated rule and its example.
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Do not announce success while an important difficulty remains unresolved. The call made before leaving the wood cautions against premature celebration, while allowing recognition of genuine progress on the way.
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Sheep manure questioned as becoming caramel rejects an appealing label for an unsuitable substance. The saying contrasts what something is with a desired transformation or presentation.
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Barking without being able to bite compares forceful threats with an inability to follow through. It questions a warning that lacks the power it implies.
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The instruction warns against blowing one’s own trumpet. It discourages conspicuous self-praise.
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Speech discouraged when nobody listens makes reception part of communication’s purpose. The saying questions effort directed at an absent or unavailable audience.
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The saying asks for reciprocity between what one expects and what one can promise. It questions demanding commitments one would not make oneself.
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