We teach what we need to learn and write what we need to know.

Meaning: Your own mistakes can teach caution, but another person’s experience may offer the same lesson without the same cost. Listen for relevant lessons before repeating an avoidable error.

Meaning: The rhyme presents a spring ague as medicine fit for a king. It gives a feverish illness a surprising positive value rather than simply treating it as misfortune.

Meaning: The saying treats apples, eggs and nuts as acceptable after someone it calls a slut. It uses a demeaning label while making an unverified claim about food handled by another person.

Meaning: April’s wind is pictured as a horn announcing favourable conditions for hay and corn. The saying links an early-season sign with a hoped-for later yield.