Honesty.

Meaning: Being truthful often protects trust and avoids the complications of maintaining a deception. Honest conduct can support lasting relationships even when admitting the truth is uncomfortable.

Meaning: Honesty pursued only for personal advantage is different from honesty valued as a principle. The saying questions a motive that lasts only while truthful conduct appears to pay.

Meaning: Dishonesty may gain a short-term advantage while damaging trust that matters later. Consider the lasting consequences of a deceptive act, rather than judging it only by the immediate result.

Meaning: Honesty gives skilled work a dependable basis by making its claims and dealings trustworthy. The saying values truthful conduct alongside ability, rather than promising that honesty alone supplies every skill or always earns a reward.

Meaning: A half truth called a whole lie warns that selective accuracy can mislead. The saying asks whether omitted context changes what a listener understands.

Meaning: The saying values an accurate account when seeking help from a trusted adviser. Its list of professional and religious roles contrasts useful understanding with an account that conceals relevant facts.

Meaning: A distant account can be hard to check, allowing an invented story to sound convincing. The saying draws attention to verification rather than encouraging dishonesty.

Meaning: Holding the bag is placed beside putting things into it, extending responsibility to a person who knowingly enables wrongdoing.

Meaning: Old unsettled accounts can start new arguments. Clarifying an earlier understanding may prevent a present disagreement from inheriting unresolved confusion.

Meaning: People often recommend the cause they already favour. Consider their commitments and interests when evaluating enthusiastic advice rather than treating it as neutral by default.

Meaning: People selling or making something tend to praise it. Treat their description as one perspective and look for relevant evidence before deciding its quality or suitability.

Meaning: An incorrect calculation does not become valid because someone relies on it. Check an error and correct the result rather than treating a mistaken account as settled.

Meaning: Composure can help you face an unfavourable situation. Presenting a steady manner is useful when it supports action, but it should not require denying what has gone wrong.

Meaning: A person accused of wrongdoing may offer a convenient explanation instead of accepting responsibility. Examine whether the reason addresses what happened, without assuming that every defence is merely an excuse.

Meaning: The speaker rejects what is being offered and tells the other person to try it elsewhere. The bone and another dog express refusal to accept a proposal, without proving that the proposal is dishonest.

Meaning: Loyalty to a purpose is declared stronger than concern about whether it is right. The appeal for divine aid exposes a partisan wish, without establishing divine approval or excusing wrongful conduct.