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 (French-language collection)
A pause before a decision can allow reconsideration. Returning later may reveal another option, though delay alone does not guarantee a sound answer.
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Ripe fruit falling by itself gives readiness a natural completion image. The saying suggests that some results may come when their conditions develop.
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A fierce burst of trouble may pass quickly. The saying offers patience during an intense moment, but its confident prediction should not be treated as a guarantee about weather or hardship.
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Patience can help a person reach an opportunity or goal that takes time. The expansive promise praises waiting wisely, without guaranteeing success or suggesting that passive delay is always better than timely action.
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The saying defines failure as ceasing to try. It values continued effort more than the result of any single attempt.
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The saying places possible slips between a cup and a lip. It warns that a result close to completion is not yet secured.
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People who continue an activity despite obvious discomfort must have a strong attachment to it. Dancing among thorns exaggerates the obstacles someone will accept for something they enjoy.
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Keeping a welcome rest or easier stage in mind can encourage continued work. The saying joins a hoped-for benefit with present effort, without requiring someone to work through exhaustion or postpone every need for recovery.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Thorns said to prick lightly when someone walks slowly connect pace with the force of an obstacle in the image. The saying favours care over haste.
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The saying withholds certainty about a hop yield until a named calendar point has passed. It emphasises waiting before deciding whether the hoped-for provision exists.
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The saying attributes ripe medlars to time and straw. It makes waiting and a named material partners in bringing a fruit to a later stage.
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The saying imagines time as a healer of every wound. It offers reassurance through a broad claim that pain will eventually ease.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Weariness can be part of the setting of a quarrel. Consider whether a pause would help people respond more patiently, while keeping fatigue separate from permission to mistreat others.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
A hurried demand need not dictate a hurried answer. The contrast gives the responder room to consider what is being asked, without praising delay when a prompt response is necessary.
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Different actions and experiences belong to different moments. The saying encourages attention to timing instead of expecting every purpose to be served at once.
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Something small or difficult to distinguish may be extremely hard to find among a large amount of material. The needle image describes a search problem, rather than proving that the search is impossible.
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The truth of a matter may be difficult to reach. The well pictures knowledge lying below the readily visible surface.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Pause before speaking so that the words fit the facts and the situation. The seven turns emphasise deliberate care rather than a literal counting rule.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
Enjoyment of a result begins before the work producing it has started. The roasting and sops image questions consuming an expected benefit as though it were already available.
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The speaker places trust in divine purpose above an apparent threat. Frost represents a force that might destroy something, while God’s will is pictured as stronger.
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Dancing in rain instead of waiting out a storm pictures finding enjoyment amid imperfect conditions. The saying asks whether life must be postponed until every difficulty ends.
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An occasional small failing may deserve tolerance rather than a confrontation. Choose which imperfections need attention instead of treating every irritation as a major offence.
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The mulberry leaf and silk gown form an image of a modest beginning becoming something elaborate through time and patience. The saying values gradual development.
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A bear learning to dance pictures an unlikely accomplishment becoming possible with time. The saying encourages patience with learning.
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