proverb · Traditional
'Tis pity fair weather should do any harm.
Even apparently pleasant conditions may have an unwanted effect. The saying expresses regret that what seems favourable can still create difficulty.
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What does it mean?
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.
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225 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
A bird makes his nest little by little.
The saying makes a bird’s nest take shape little by little. As an explicit analogy, modest repeated contributions can build a larger result.
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A bushel of March dust is worth a king's ransom.
Dry March conditions are pictured as extremely valuable. A bushel of dust worth a king’s ransom exaggerates the benefit the saying assigns to that weather.
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A cat has nine lives.
The saying gives a cat nine lives. It exaggerates survival or repeated chances through an impossible-sounding count.
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A cherry year, a merry year.
A year with abundant cherries is imagined as a joyful one. The rhyme associates a pleasing yield with celebration.
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A cold April a barn will fill.
The saying regards a cold April as a sign of a well-filled barn later. It turns an unwelcome immediate condition into a hoped-for harvest benefit.
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A cold May and a windy Makes a full barn and a findy.
The saying connects cold, windy May weather with a full barn later. It expresses confidence that the named conditions will produce ample provision.
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A cold May, Plenty of corn and hay.
The saying expects a cold May to be followed by plenty of corn and hay. The short rhyme makes an uncomfortable condition a promise of provision.
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A cowboy’s horse always eats first.
A cowboy’s horse eating first gives an animal’s needs priority in the care image. The saying values responsibility for a dependent working companion.
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A dog is man’s best friend.
The saying gives dogs the role of a person’s best friend. It expresses affection for animal companionship.
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A dry May and a dripping June, Does surely bring all things in tune.
The saying claims that dry May followed by wet June brings things into good order. The musical phrase gives the weather sequence an image of harmony.
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A good winter brings a good summer.
The saying expects a good winter to lead to a good summer. It carries a favourable judgment from one season into the next without defining what good means.
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A green winter makes a fat churchyard.
The saying connects a green winter with a full churchyard. Its grim image associates a winter condition with increased deaths without explaining the cause.
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A growing youth hath a wolf in his stomach.
The saying pictures a growing young person’s appetite as unusually large. The wolf image is humorous exaggeration rather than a standard of what every young person should eat.
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A hot May makes a fat churchyard.
The saying associates a hot May with a full churchyard. It makes a month’s warmth an ominous sign of deaths without providing a measured relationship.
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A May flood never did good.
The saying declares flooding in May harmful. Its absolute wording gives an unwelcome seasonal event a single verdict.
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A plant often removed cannot thrive.
Repeated disruption can make it harder for something to establish itself. The transplanted plant gives continuity a vivid image.
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A promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain.
A promise as cloud and fulfilment as rain contrast a sign of possibility with its realised effect. The saying values completion over assurance alone.
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A ring around the sun or moon, means that rain will come real soon.
The rhyme makes a ring around the sun or moon a sign of rain soon. It uses an optical sky image to anticipate changing weather.
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A rose is a rose is a rose.
The saying repeats that a rose is a rose. It emphasises a thing’s identity rather than allowing descriptions to replace the thing itself.
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A Saturday's moon Always comes too soon.
The saying calls the arrival of a Saturday moon unwelcome or premature. Its disapproval is explicit, while the particular consequence is left unstated.
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A Scotch mist will wet an Englishman through to the skin.
The saying claims a Scotch mist can thoroughly wet an Englishman. It contrasts the seemingly slight weather with a substantial effect on the person in it.
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A snow year, a rich year.
The saying associates a snowy year with prosperity. Its brief promise makes one broad weather description a sign of abundance.
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A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
Older people planting trees they will not sit beneath gives future benefit priority beyond the planter’s own use. The saying praises care across generations.
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