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
Each course of action may bring some difficulty. The puddle makes an obstacle seem part of the journey, encouraging realistic expectations without claiming that every problem is unavoidable or worth enduring.
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An arrangement that suits one person may not suit another. Judge the fit to the individual or task instead of assuming one successful solution works everywhere.
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An undertaking needs a sound basis of its own. The tub’s bottom pictures the support without which the container cannot fulfil its purpose.
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Something useful or welcome can be better suited to one occasion than another. The saying values timing and context, while its broad wording should not imply that every action becomes good merely by choosing a moment for it.
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Learning through your own mistakes can be costly, yet people often take a lesson seriously only after experiencing its consequences. Consider whether you could learn earlier from advice or another person’s experience.
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The saying sharply criticises people who ignore guidance and learn only after a mistake affects them. Take relevant warnings seriously instead of requiring every lesson to arrive through your own setback.
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An extreme condition or approach may be difficult to sustain. Consider whether an intense position has a workable future, while avoiding the assumption that every extreme situation will soon end by itself.
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Something already pleasing need not be improved by decoration. The face and paint picture an existing quality that extra embellishment may not help.
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Attractive presentation can make something look more appealing. The fine feathers explain the favourable impression, while leaving open whether what is being presented also has the qualities someone needs.
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A strong preference can make something seem better than it is. Imagining bran as flour pictures wishful judgement, without proving that every hope or favourable opinion is mistaken.
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Distance from a centre of power can mean distance from its pressures and intrigues. The saying values relief from courtly concerns, but being outside influential circles does not remove every worry or make exclusion a desirable condition.
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Do not worry more about a small loss than about a larger loss that includes it. Keep the relative importance of what is at stake in view when deciding where attention belongs.
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A conversation that seems private may still be overheard. Do not assume an open or apparently empty place guarantees that sensitive words will remain confidential.
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Good presentation can make someone or something appear impressive. The saying recognises the effect of outward display without proving that impressive clothing or decoration reveals the quality underneath.
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Something powerful can be useful when kept within appropriate bounds and destructive when it controls the situation. Consider both its value and the consequences of losing control over it.
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A method suited to one purpose may be useless for another. Choose an approach that fits the task rather than repeating a familiar technique regardless of what it can achieve.
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An early sign can give reason to expect a later result. Flowers stand for the promise of fruit, while the saying should not be read as a guarantee that a promising beginning will reach completion.
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Following a coherent course can lead towards its larger destination. The river image values continuity and direction, without proving that every path reaches a desired result or supplying reliable travel instructions.
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Compassion that ignores consequences can fail to help the people affected. The saying asks for thoughtfulness alongside pity.
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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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One person can bear the cost of a display while another enjoys the benefit. The contrast questions whether extravagant hospitality serves the person paying for it.
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A person may remain confident in a mistaken judgement instead of examining it. The saying criticises unearned certainty, without giving an observer a fair basis to dismiss someone permanently as a fool.
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Careless decisions can create complications that others must patiently resolve. Value the work of untangling a problem, and notice what caused it.
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A small missing part can have consequences beyond its immediate size when other things depend on it. The nail, shoe, horse and rider form a chain of dependence, without proving that every small defect produces a disaster.
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