Character.

Meaning: Do good without turning the act into a display for your own credit. The two hands picture a generosity so quiet that it does not advertise itself.

Meaning: A damaging influence can affect more than its immediate surroundings. In a group, address particular harmful conduct before it disrupts others, without labelling a person as inherently spoiled or beyond change.

Meaning: Good words are valuable, but doing the promised or useful thing gives them practical substance. The wordplay between say well and do well favours follow-through, without making thoughtful speech useless.

Meaning: Contempt can spread through a group when people copy one another’s tone. Catching scorn pictures a social response becoming contagious.

Meaning: Taking action yourself can give you responsibility for its result. The compact pairing connects personal effort with what is obtained.

Meaning: Claiming your own excellence does not by itself give others a reason to trust that claim. Offer relevant evidence or let others assess the work, while recognising that truthful self-description can be useful.

Meaning: People may readily join an attack or criticism while few accept the effort of following through. Consider who will take responsibility for the costs and practical work behind a forceful response.

Meaning: This saying presents women’s silence as desirable, reflecting a restrictive gender expectation. It should be read as an old viewpoint, not as a rule about who deserves to speak.

Meaning: The saying dismisses singing while eating as something only fools and fiddlers do. It joins an insult with an occupation to enforce a rule of behaviour.

Meaning: Almost anyone can become the subject of a harmful false report. The saying recognises vulnerability to slander rather than treating accusation as proof of wrongdoing.

Meaning: A careless remark may be harder to put right than an ordinary stumble. The comparison warns about the effects of speech, without proving that physical injury is minor or that necessary words should remain unspoken.

Meaning: The saying treats a person disparaged as a slut as good enough to make pottage for someone disparaged as a sloven. It pairs two insults to express a reduced standard of suitability.

Meaning: The saying gives sorrow a purpose only in remorse for wrongdoing. A careful reading distinguishes that religious or moral emphasis from the many other reasons people grieve.

Meaning: Actions can produce consequences connected with what was done. Sowing and reaping picture a relationship between preparation and the resulting harvest.

Meaning: The saying expresses trust that divine care supports a person who uses resources well. A good spender’s imagined treasurer turns provision into a religious image.

Meaning: A small transaction may reveal how someone handles a larger one. The penny and shilling invite attention to habits without making one example conclusive.

Meaning: An action aimed outward can rebound on the person who performs it. Spitting against the wind pictures a self-defeating response, without proving that challenging a difficult situation is always futile or wrong.

Meaning: A high position can expose someone to a greater loss when it is lost. The height and fall image invites humility about status and vulnerability.

Meaning: A willingness to commit a small theft can raise concern about a larger one. The egg and ox exaggerate an escalation that should be examined rather than assumed.

Meaning: A small dishonest taking can be a reason to examine trust. The saying imagines escalation to something more valuable but does not establish that escalation as certain.

Meaning: A quiet or reserved manner can conceal complex feelings, strong convictions or considerable ability. Someone’s lack of outward display does not necessarily tell you how much is going on beneath it.

Meaning: Do not carelessly undermine what you are trying to offer. Calling one’s own fish stinking pictures damaging speech about an undertaking one hopes others will accept.

Meaning: Attend to bodily needs, close relationships and conscience rather than assuming any can be neglected without consequence. The list joins practical care with moral reflection.

Meaning: When a situation has a real constraint, adjust your approach to pass through it. Flexibility can help where insisting on your usual posture will not.