Justice.

Meaning: The saying places a cock’s crow before a hen’s movement. It gives a voice and a following action different roles without supplying a wider setting.

Meaning: When resources are scarce, shared provision may be limited. The contrast between coin and commons connects available means with what a group can supply.

Meaning: An undertaking is compromised when its guiding purpose is harmful. The devil carrying the colours pictures a troubling cause at the head of the effort.

Editorial context: This is a sexist claim about confidentiality. Judge a person’s conduct rather than assuming women cannot keep information private.

Meaning: The saying mocks women as unable to keep information private unless they do not know it. This is a sexist accusation about confidentiality, not a reliable judgement of any individual.

Meaning: An influential supporter can sometimes secure help that money alone cannot obtain. The saying values access through a relationship, while leaving open whether that access is legitimate assistance or unfair favouritism.

Meaning: Polite words may be inadequate when someone needs practical support. The saying asks for tangible help instead of ceremony, while recognising that the request still needs to fit what the other person can fairly provide.

Meaning: An appearance of protection can coexist with actions that hurt. Wings and bill give the same bird a sheltering and a harmful role, asking whether the offered care is borne out by conduct rather than by its presentation alone.

Meaning: The saying links cowardice with cruelty, suggesting that fear may be expressed through harm to others. Its word always makes an unjustified universal claim: fear is not proof of cruelty, and harmful conduct should be assessed through actions and their effects.

Meaning: A distorted approach can leave a corresponding mark on its results. The crooked tree and shadow picture that connection, without proving that every disappointing outcome reveals bad intent or a flawed person.

Meaning: The saying treats a crowing hen as a sign that things will go badly. A critical reading notices the negative judgment attached to an animal taking an unexpected role.

Meaning: The saying connects cruel rule with fear, suggesting that domination can make both ruler and subjects watchful. It invites scrutiny of coercive conduct, but it is not a universal account of another person’s motives or proof that fear always reveals cruelty.

Meaning: Cruelty is condemned by imagining it as something the devil enjoys. The image expresses moral disapproval of causing suffering, without providing evidence about supernatural beings or deciding the facts of a particular dispute.

Meaning: The saying expects marriage to loosen a son’s tie to his parents while a daughter’s tie endures. It expresses an unequal assumption about family loyalty and gender.

Meaning: Making a shortage into one’s storehouse pictures gaining from other people’s deprivation. The saying condemns exploiting scarcity, rather than every instance of preparing supplies or receiving a benefit during difficult circumstances; the relevant question is how the advantage is obtained.

Meaning: Doing something deserving does not guarantee a corresponding reward. The saying questions whether recognition follows merit, without making good work pointless or proving that every recognised person is undeserving.

Meaning: Acknowledge a person’s genuine merit even when you dislike or oppose them. Fair assessment does not require approving everything they have done or overlooking a serious wrong.

Meaning: Do not exaggerate a fault or make an already troubling situation seem worse than the evidence shows. The devil supplies an extreme image, but the practical point is proportionate judgement rather than denying real wrongdoing.

Editorial context: This presents women’s silence and noninterference as an ideal. Respect for privacy does not require ignoring wrongdoing.

Meaning: The saying presents a discreet woman as someone who notices or acknowledges nothing. It reflects a restrictive expectation of silence and noninterference, rather than a universal standard of good judgement.

Meaning: Treat others with the consideration you would hope to receive yourself. Thinking about how an action would feel from the other side can help you choose a fairer response.

Meaning: The saying prefers an old doctor and a young lawyer. It assigns different age ideals to two professions without explaining the comparison.

Meaning: Useful and dependable work deserves fitting recognition. Notice the contribution and respond fairly instead of taking continued service for granted.

Meaning: Even a creature regarded as troublesome may still deserve basic kindness. The crust of bread provides a modest image of care that is not reserved only for those considered good or useful.

Meaning: The saying urges further attack on someone already in difficulty. It describes a harsh response to weakness rather than a principle to follow; a constructive reading challenges the impulse to exploit a setback and asks what fairness or support requires.

Meaning: The saying praises England as an ideal place for women. Its sweeping national compliment leaves individual circumstances and the standard of comparison unstated.