proverb · Traditional
St. Bartholomew brings the cold dew.
The saying uses St. Bartholomew as a calendar marker for the arrival of cold dew. It associates an observance with a seasonal condition.
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What does it mean?
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225 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
Stars are not seen during sunshine.
The saying pictures stars disappearing from view in sunshine. As a metaphor, a dominant presence can draw attention away from less conspicuous contributions.
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Summer is the season of inferior sledding.
Summer called inferior sledding judges a season by one activity it may not suit. The saying uses a narrowed criterion for a humorous comparison.
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Take only what you need, and leave the land as you found it.
Taking only what is needed and leaving land as found expresses restraint in use and care for a place. It asks that benefit not come through unnecessary depletion.
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Tall oaks grow from little acorns.
The saying grows tall oaks from little acorns. It encourages attention to the possible value of a modest beginning.
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The best time to plant a tree was many years ago, the second best time is today.
An earlier tree-planting opportunity is compared with acting today. The saying directs attention from a missed beginning toward a present possibility.
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The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf that makes the caribou grows strong.
A caribou feeding a wolf and the wolf strengthening the caribou make opposing effects seem reciprocal. The saying gives tension or challenge a developmental role.
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The cherry blossom among flowers–the warrior among men.
The cherry blossom among flowers paired with the warrior among people elevates both through a parallel comparison. The saying expresses admiration for a particular human ideal.
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The darker the night–the brighter the stars.
Stars brighter in a darker night give brightness a contrast with surrounding darkness. Figuratively, a welcome thing may stand out amid difficulty.
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The eye of the leopard is on the goat, and the eye of the goat is on the leaf.
A leopard attending to a goat while the goat attends to a leaf gives different participants different objects of attention. The saying pictures an overlooked concern beyond an immediate attraction.
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The higher the clouds the finer the weather.
The saying pairs higher clouds with finer weather. It presents cloud height as a favourable sign.
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The higher the clouds, the better the weather.
The saying makes weather better as clouds appear higher. It turns cloud height into a simple positive comparison.
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The hind had as lief see his wife on the bier, As Candlemas day should be pleasant and clear.
The rhyme makes a husband dread a clear, pleasant Candlemas as strongly as his wife’s death. It exaggerates the fear attached to a calendar-weather sign.
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The kind man provides for his cat before sitting to dinner.
A kind person feeding a cat before their own dinner gives care for a dependent animal a place in everyday responsibility. The saying values attending to another need rather than only one’s own.
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The moon, her face be red, of water she speaks.
The saying makes a red-faced moon speak of water. Its personification treats lunar colour as a sign of approaching rain.
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The moon's not seen where the sun shines.
The saying contrasts the moon’s visibility with the sun’s brightness. As a metaphor, it can describe one prominent presence drawing attention away from another.
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The night hides our world but reveals the majestic universe.
Night hiding the familiar world while revealing a majestic universe contrasts loss of one view with an expanded perspective. The saying gives darkness an image of discovery.
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The seed cannot sprout upwards without sending roots into the ground.
A seed growing upward through roots sent into the ground gives visible development a supporting foundation. The saying values what an outward result depends on.
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The sharper the blast the sooner 'tis past'.
The saying makes a sharper blast pass sooner. It pairs greater intensity with a shorter duration.
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The sharper the thorn–the nicer the rose.
A sharper thorn paired with a nicer rose links an appealing quality with a greater obstacle or hazard. The saying combines attraction and difficulty in one image.
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The thorn comes forth with his point forwards.
The saying pictures a thorn coming out with its point facing forward. As an explicit analogy, a difficult encounter may announce its sharpness from the start.
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The tide must turn the lowest before it turns around.
The lowest tide before turning gives a low point an image of approaching reversal. The saying offers hope through a cyclical natural scene.
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The tide will fetch away what the ebb brings.
A later change can remove what an earlier change supplied. The ebb and returning tide picture a temporary gain that may not stay in place.
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The water is hot but will extinguish the fire.
The saying describes water as hot yet able to extinguish fire. Its contrast separates a condition from the function the saying assigns it.
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