Words worth understanding
Start with the thought in plain English. Then examine its imagery, practical application and limitations.
2,058 selected entries have editorial explanations. An explanation is not independent authentication of an attribution. Start with the individually source-checked classics ↗
proverb · Traditional
You can provide an opportunity, guidance or encouragement, but another person must choose whether to take part. The horse image distinguishes making something available from being able to compel a willing response.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Failing to ask for something that is due or needed can mean not receiving it. The saying encourages a clear request instead of relying on silent expectation.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A person may need to begin with the resources actually available, rather than wait for an ideal set. The farming image encourages practical adaptation without saying that unsuitable or unsafe resources must be accepted.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A seller’s preferred price is constrained by what buyers will actually accept. The saying draws attention to the conditions surrounding an exchange.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying treats honesty as a virtue that is not spoiled simply by having more of it. Its exaggerated language praises integrity, while truthful conduct still requires care about privacy, timing and how words affect others.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying contrasts gladness with what it calls madness, claiming that one seldom leads to the other. It gives a cheerful disposition a protective role without evidence supplied here.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Words that are not supported by action can leave a responsibility neglected. The weed-filled garden makes that neglect visible, without assuming that every statement requires a physical task or that discussion cannot itself be useful.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying makes a man’s wife the source of his greatest good or bad fortune. It recognises the importance of a partnership while placing excessive responsibility for his whole life on her.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional proverb
Progress is pictured as a sequence of movements through temporary instability. The image can encourage a person to see adjustment as part of moving forward, without celebrating harmful mistakes or claiming that every setback is necessary.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying declares flooding in May harmful. Its absolute wording gives an unwelcome seasonal event a single verdict.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Learning confined to books can leave a person poorly prepared for a practical situation. The saying’s insult should be replaced by a fair question about application.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Good company can make a journey feel easier. The comparison with a horse praises the support of a cheerful companion, without claiming that conversation removes physical limits or replaces needed transport and rest.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Enjoyment can absorb attention so completely that important family relationships are neglected. The warning concerns forgotten obligations, without making pleasure or independence inherently wrong.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The saying contrasts a father’s restrictive saving with a son’s lavish spending. It imagines opposite attitudes across generations without proving that one necessarily causes the other.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
When a result depends on meeting a definite target, narrowly missing it still leaves that target unmet. The saying distinguishes success from closeness, while allowing partial progress and effort to have value for other purposes.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
An incorrect calculation does not become valid because someone relies on it. Check an error and correct the result rather than treating a mistaken account as settled.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying presents a mother’s care as enduring even as time passes. It is an affectionate image of lasting concern, not a guarantee that every mother-child relationship is loving or unchanged.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Small repeated efforts can gradually overcome a larger obstacle. Notice cumulative progress rather than assuming that an action is useless because one attempt has little visible effect.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Someone newly taking on a role may begin with energy and a wish to improve things. The new broom pictures that fresh effort, without guaranteeing lasting results or making an established worker inherently less effective.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
The saying prefers a smaller sum that moves quickly to a larger sum that moves slowly. Speed of use or exchange can matter alongside nominal amount.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Generous hospitality is pictured as a home without barriers to welcome. The absence of doors exaggerates the openness of a considerate host.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Money available to use may meet an immediate want when friends cannot or will not provide it. The purse image contrasts a practical resource with reliance on others, without proving that money is more valuable than friendship.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A little money immediately available can provide practical help or reassurance. The pocket companion is a figurative image of usefulness, rather than a claim that money offers the same support as a friend.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Money you avoid wasting remains available for another purpose. Small savings can be useful even when they seem less noticeable than earning additional income.
Read the explanation and example ↗