proverb · Traditional
Do not sell sun in July.
The saying advises against selling sun in July. In the supplied speculative reading, it cautions against offering something assumed already abundant.
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What does it mean?
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.
499 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
Don’t ask a hungry man to watch your rice.
A hungry person asked to guard rice depicts an avoidable conflict between immediate need and an assigned responsibility. The saying asks whether circumstances fit the task.
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Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
The saying postpones counting chickens until they hatch. As an analogy, it separates an expected gain from one already realised.
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Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.
The saying keeps eggs from all being placed in one basket. As an analogy, avoid making every resource depend on one possible outcome.
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Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
The saying warns against putting every egg in one basket. As an analogy, it questions concentrating everything where one failure could affect the whole.
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Don’t spread all the butter on your loaf.
All the butter spread on one loaf pictures using a supply in one place. A qualified reading asks whether resources should be reserved or shared rather than exhausted at once.
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Don’t work to get rich.
The instruction rejects getting rich as the purpose of work. It questions making wealth accumulation the sole aim of effort.
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Drop a penny leave it lay.
The instruction asks that a dropped penny be left lying. It tells someone not to retrieve an object, while leaving the reason unstated.
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Easy come, easy go.
The saying pairs easy arrival with easy departure. It suggests that something gained readily may also be lost readily.
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Eat vegetables and fear no creditors, rather than eat duck and hide.
Vegetables without fear of creditors preferred to duck eaten while hiding contrast simpler consumption with a burdened display of abundance. The saying values a less anxious arrangement over luxury.
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Enough and to spare is too much.
The saying treats a surplus as unnecessary when a need has already been met. Its useful question is whether extra provision serves a purpose, while reserves, sharing and uncertain future needs may make more than the immediate minimum worthwhile.
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Envy goes beyond avarice.
Wanting to deny another person a benefit can be more destructive than wanting an advantage for yourself. Notice when comparison turns a desire into resentment.
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Envy never enriched any man.
Resenting another person’s advantage does not by itself improve your own situation. Notice what you need or can learn instead of treating someone else’s success as a resource you have lost.
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Evening orts are good morning fodder.
The saying makes evening leftovers useful as morning fodder. It presents material left over at one time as provision for a later use.
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Every man has his price.
The saying gives every man a price. It portrays people as willing to trade their principles when offered enough of what they want.
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Every one basteth the fat hog, while the lean one burneth.
Attention and assistance may flow towards those already well provided for while someone in greater need is neglected. The cooking image criticises that imbalance, without proving that every visible advantage is undeserved or that need can be judged from appearance alone.
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Every one has a penny to spend at a new ale-house.
A new attraction can persuade people to find money or time they seemed unwilling to spare before. The new ale-house image comments on enthusiasm for novelty, rather than proving that everyone can afford it.
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Every sow to her own trough.
Each participant is directed toward their own allotted provision. The trough image can express order but needs scrutiny if it is used to exclude someone unfairly.
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Everybody must row with the oars he has.
The saying asks everyone to row with the oars they have. It turns available tools into the starting point for making progress.
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Everything has its price.
Everything having a price pictures benefits or choices as carrying a cost. The saying asks what must be given or borne for an outcome.
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Fail to steal the chicken while it ate up your bait grain.
The saying has an attempt to steal a chicken fail while the bait grain is lost. It depicts an unsuccessful aim with an added cost.
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Fair exchange is no robbery.
The saying separates a fair exchange from robbery. It makes fairness the condition that distinguishes a swap from taking advantage.
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Fiddler's fare; meat, drink, and money.
The saying pictures a fiddler’s reward as food, drink and money. It combines sustenance and payment in a compact account of what the performer receives.
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Fools build houses, and wise men buy them.
A later participant may benefit from work or expense already borne by someone else. Building and buying contrast creating an asset with acquiring the completed result.
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