proverb · Traditional
He that labours and thrives, spins gold.
Useful effort that produces a result is compared to making gold. Spinning gives productive work a visible image of creating value.
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478 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
He that lives upon his wits, breaks for want of stock.
Ingenuity alone may not sustain an undertaking that lacks necessary resources. Wit and stock contrast a clever approach with the means that let it work.
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He that reckons without his host must reckon again.
A plan made without considering a key person or condition may need to be revised. The host image warns against assuming an arrangement is settled before those it depends on have been consulted.
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He that riseth betimes hath something in his head.
Starting early may indicate a purpose someone wants to pursue. The saying reads an early beginning as a sign of intention rather than idle movement.
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He that runs fast will not run long.
A very intense pace may be difficult to sustain over a long task. Match the effort to the distance ahead rather than assuming that the fastest start produces the best overall result.
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He that runs fastest gets the prize.
In a contest decided by speed, faster performance gains the reward. The saying can encourage focused effort while inviting questions about what the contest actually measures.
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He that sows nothing plants thistles.
Neglecting a task can allow unwanted results to develop. The empty sowing and growing thistles contrast deliberate cultivation with what happens without it.
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He that throws away his estate with his hands, goes afterwards to pick it upon his feet.
Carelessly giving up resources can leave someone working hard to recover even a small amount. The hands discard what the feet must later pursue.
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He that waits on another man's trencher, makes many a late dinner.
Depending on another person’s arrangements can delay meeting one’s own needs. Waiting at someone else’s table pictures the limits of control in that dependence.
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He that will eat the kernel, must crack the nut.
Some rewards cannot be obtained without first meeting a necessary condition. The kernel inside a nut gives a concrete image of that condition; this wording expresses the same broad idea as the archive’s other nut-and-kernel saying.
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He that will not go over the stile must be thrust through the gate.
The saying proposes forcing someone into another route when they refuse the first. A critical reading asks whether the task is legitimate and whether force is justified at all.
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He that will not stoop for a pin, shall never be worth a point.
Attention to a small useful resource can be part of responsible care. Stooping for a pin makes modest effort visible, while the sweeping judgment about worth needs restraint.
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He that will thrive must rise at five. He that hath thriven may lie till seven.
The saying links early effort with advancement and imagines success allowing more leisure. Its clock times are memorable rhetoric rather than a universal schedule.
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He that would be Pope must think of nothing else.
A very demanding ambition can require sustained attention. The wish to become Pope gives the saying an extreme example of a goal absorbing a person’s effort.
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He that would catch fish must not mind getting wet.
Obtaining a desired result may involve some inconvenience. Be willing to do the necessary work, while checking that the cost is proportionate and the method is reasonable.
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He wants to have a finger in every pie.
Someone wants involvement or influence in many different activities. A finger in every pie pictures that widespread participation, without proving that their interest is useful, intrusive or dishonest in every case.
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He who does not tire, achieves.
Continuing an effort can help bring a task to completion. The claim about not tiring is encouragement to perseverance, rather than a literal demand to avoid rest or a guarantee of success.
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He who lies long in bed his estate feels it.
The estate is pictured as feeling the effects of prolonged absence from necessary work. The saying questions neglected responsibilities, rather than measuring character by early rising or treating sleep, illness, disability or needed rest as a moral failure.
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He who serves well need not be afraid to ask his wages.
Work performed deserves recognition and agreed compensation. The saying encourages a person not to treat a request for payment as shameful.
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He who stays in the valley will never get over the hill.
Progress toward a difficult destination may require leaving the present position. The valley and hill contrast remaining still with taking the steps the goal needs.
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He who would have a hare for breakfast must hunt over night.
A desired result may require preparation before the moment it is wanted. The breakfast-and-hunt image connects present enjoyment with earlier work, without prescribing hunting or suggesting every outcome can be secured by planning.
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He's up at five, And he will thrive.
An early start is presented as a sign of diligence and a chance to make progress. Five o’clock gives the general praise of effort a memorable concrete hour.
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Help yourself and your friends will like you.
Taking some initiative can make cooperation easier for friends. The saying values active participation, but its approval-based wording should not imply that a person must be self-sufficient or useful to deserve friendship and support.
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High places have their precipices.
A position that offers advantages can also expose someone to serious consequences. Precipices around a high place warn against overlooking its dangerous edges, rather than treating prominence as proof of security.
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