A handsome woman is either silly or vain, 227
A handsome shoe often pinches the foot, 31
A handsome man is not quite poor, 205
A happy heart is better than a full purse, 96
A hard bit does not make the better horse, 372
A hawk’s marriage: the hen is the better bird, 38
A head is not to be cut off because it is scabby, 387
A headless army fights badly, 380
A hearth of your own is worth gold, 365
A heavy shower is soon over, 104
A hired horse and one’s own spurs make short miles, 149, 313
A honeyed tongue with a heart of gall, 30
A horse grown fat kicks, 77
A horse may stumble, though he have four legs, 76, 315
A house filled with guests is eaten up and ill spoken of, 208
A house full of daughters is a cellar full of sour beer, 314
A house ready built and a vineyard ready planted, 208
A house ready made and a wife to make, 37
A huckster who cannot pass off mouseturd for pepper, has not learned
his trade, 144
A hundred bakers, a hundred millers, and a hundred tailors are three
hundred thieves, 328
A hundred tailors, a hundred millers, and a hundred weavers are three
hundred thieves, 208
A hundred waggonsful of sorrow will not pay a handful of debt, 380
A hundred years a banner, a hundred years a barrow—A very old proverb,
signifying the changeful fortunes of great feudal families], 10
A hundred years cannot repair a moment’s loss of honour, 70
A hundred years hence we shall all be bald, 193
A hundred years is not much, but never is a long while, 10
A hundred years of regret pay not a farthing of debt, 10, 153
A hundred years of wrong do not make an hour of right, 153
A hungry ass eats any straw, 72
A hungry belly has no ears, 63, 131, 143, 220, 290, 314
A hungry clown is half mad, 64
A hungry dog and a thirsty horse take no heed of blows, 380
A hungry dog does not fear the stick, 13, 76
A hungry man discovers more than a hundred lawyers, 231
A hungry wolf is not at rest, 280
A husband with one eye rather than with one son, 218
A jackfish does more than a letter of recommendation, 61
A jade eats as much as a good horse, 110
A joyous evening often leads to a sorrowful morning, 371
A kick from a mare never hurt a horse, 27
A kitchen-dog is never a good rabbit-hunter, 240
A kitchen dog never was good for the chase, 76
A lame goat will not sleep by day, 206
A lame man won’t walk with one who is lamer, 60
A landmark is well placed between two brothers’ fields, 28
A large fire often comes from a small spark, 346
A lawsuit for a maravedi consumes a real’s worth of paper, 198
A lawyer and a cart-wheel must be greased, 142
A lazy boy and a warm bed are difficult to part, 354
A lazy ox is little the better for the goad, 193
A lean calf forgets to skip, 386
A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit (Agree, for the law is
costly), 144, 314—_see also_ A bad compromise, &c.
A lean horse does not kick, 77
A liar is sooner caught than a cripple, 121, 126, 281
A liar must have a good memory, 74, 314
A lie has short legs, 273
A light belly, a heavy heart, 158
A litigious man, a liar, 20
A little absence does much good, 62
A little dinner, long expected and cold, is by no means given, but
dearly sold, 45
A little dog, a cow without horns, and a short man, are generally
proud, 399
A little gall spoils (or embitters) a great deal of honey, 62, 121,
240, 242
A little help does a great deal, 62
A little injury dismays, and a great one stills, 292
A little leaven leavens (sours) a great mass, 45
A little loss frightens, a great one tames, 240
A little makes a debtor and much an enemy, 290
A little man fells a great oak, 45
A little man often casts a long shadow, 92
A little man sometimes casts a long shadow, 62
A little pack serves a little pedlar, 4
A little pot is soon hot, 314
A little rain stills a great wind, 45
A little sheep always seems young, 45
A little spark kindles a great fire, 120, 173, 212
A little spark shines in the dark, 45
A little stone may upset a large cart, 120, 384
A little thing often helps, 45
A little too late, much too late, 144, 316
A little truth makes the whole lie pass, 130
A living ass is better than a dead doctor, 131
A load of March dust is worth a ducat, 144
A long tongue betokens a short hand, 226, 265
A lord of straw devours a vassal of steel, 62
A lord without land, is like a cask without wine, 374
A lordly taste makes a beggar’s purse, 151
A lovelorn cook oversalts the porridge, 172
A lover’s anger is short-lived, 125
A loving man, a jealous man, 131
A mad dog cannot live long, 13
A mad parish, a mad priest, 68
A man cannot carry all his kin on his back, 388
A man assailed is half overcome, 20
A man, a word; a word, a man, 144
A man conducts himself abroad as he has been taught at home, 375
A man dances all the same, though he may dance against his will, 373
A man does not always aim at what he means to hit, 400
A man does not look behind the door unless he has stood there himself,
354
A man forewarned is as good as two—(Forewarned is forearmed),
224—_see_ A man warned, &c.
A man is bound by his word, an ox with a hempen cord, 395
A man is not a lord because he feeds off fine dishes, 386
A man is not known till he cometh to honour, 333
A man is valued according to his own estimate of himself, 7
A man may hap to bring home with him what makes him weep, 196
A man may threaten yet be afraid, 58
A man must eat, though every tree were a gallows, 333
A man must keep his mouth open a long while before a roast pigeon
flies into it, 389
A man of straw is worth a woman of gold, 62, 279
A man of straw needs a woman of gold, 130
A man often kisses the hand he would fain see cut off, 386
A man overboard, a mouth the less, 315
A man’s character reaches town before his person, 396
A man’s face is a lion’s, 140
A man’s own opinion is never wrong, 103
A man’s will is his heaven, 386
A man’s word is his honour, 386
A man takes his own wherever he finds it, 43
A man that has had his fill is no eater, 224
A man that is lean, not from hunger, is harder than brass, 256
A man travels as far in a day as a snail in a hundred years, 6
A man warned is as good as two, 62, 130, 224
A man warned is half saved, 149
A man well mounted is always proud, 62
A man who has but one eye must take good care of it, 50
A man who is not spoken of is not abused, 396
A man who wants bread is ready for anything, 15
A man who wants to drown his dog says he is mad, 54
A man without money is like a ship without sails, 315
A meagre (or lean) compromise is better than a fat lawsuit, 350
A measly hog infects the whole sty, 219
A melon and a woman are hard to know (or choose), 18, 219
A merry host makes merry guests, 316
A merry life forgets father and mother, 28
A mewing cat is never a good mouser, 223
A mild sheep is sucked by every lamb, 119
A modest dog seldom grows fat, 397
A monkey remains a monkey, though dressed in silk, 203
A Montgomery division: all on one side, nothing on the other, 44
A morsel eaten gains no friend, 269
A morsel eaten selfishly does not gain a friend, 205
A muffled cat never caught a mouse, 27, 99
A mule and a woman do what is expected of them, 227
A nail secures the horse-shoe, the shoe the horse, the horse the man,
the man the castle, and the castle the whole land, 144
A naughty child must be roughly rocked, 394
A near neighbour is better than a distant cousin, 97
A necessary lie is harmless, 143
A neighbour’s eye is full of jealousy, 393
A new broom is good for three days, 100
A new net won’t catch an old bird, 124
A noble prince or king never has a coin to bless himself, 62
A north wind has no corn, and a poor man no friend, 259
A pack of cards is the devil’s prayer-book, 156
A pair of light shoes is not all that is wanted for dancing, 357
A peasant between two lawyers is like a fish between two
cats—(Catalan), 202
A peg for every hole, 7
A penny in time is as good as a dollar, 366
A penny saved is a penny gained, 145
A penny saved is twopence got, 142
A penny spared is a penny saved, 247
A penny spared is better than a florin gained, 316
A pet child has many names, 381
A pig bought on credit grunts all the year, 242
A pig on credit makes a good winter and a bad spring, 268
A pig’s life, short and sweet, 63
A pig’s tail will never make a good arrow, 212
A plaster house, a horse at grass, and a friend in words, are all mere
glass, 314
A pleasant companion on a journey is as good as a postchaise, 14
A pleasant thing never comes too soon, 362
A plough that worketh, shines; but still water stinks, 315
A poor man has few acquaintances, 368
A poor man is all schemes, 224
A poor man is hungry after eating, 279
A poor man’s joy has much alloy, 368
A Portuguese apprentice who can’t sew, yet would be cutting out, 200
A priest’s pocket is not easily filled, 395
A promise is a debt, 172
A proud pauper and a rich miser are contemptible beings, 75
A ragged coat finds little credit, 74
A ragged colt may make a handsome horse, 38, 272
A ragged sack holds no grain, a poor man is not taken into counsel,
124
A rash man, a skin of good wine, and a glass vessel, do not last long,
279
A reconciled friend is a twofold enemy, 199
A resolute heart endures no counsel, 273
A restive morsel needs a spur of wine, 3
A rich child often sits in a poor mother’s lap, 394
A rich man is never ugly in the eyes of a girl, 62
A rich widow weeps with one eye and laughs with the other, 268
A rich wife is a source of quarrel, 396
A rickety chair will not long serve as a seat, 392
A rod is better than a fox’s brush, 396
A rolling stone gathers no moss, 45, 120, 174, 240, 291, 315
A royal heart is often hid under a tattered cloak, 393
A runaway horse punishes himself, 77
A runaway monk never speaks well of his convent, 316
A sack full of fleas is easier to watch than a woman, 143
A sack is best tied before it is full, 42
A sack was never so full but it could hold another grain, 33, 113
A sad bride makes a glad wife, 313
A saddle fits more backs than one, 130
A scabby colt may make a good horse, 212
A scabby head fears the comb, 315
A scald head needs strong lye, 357
A scalded cat dreads cold water, 13, 278
A scalded dog thinks cold water hot, 65
A scorpion never stung me but I cured myself with its grease, 113
A seat in the council is honour without profit, 288
A secret between two is God’s secret, a secret between three is
everybody’s, 242
A secret imparted is no longer a secret, 125
A servant and a cock must be kept but one year, 289
A sharp tooth for hard bread, 200, 266
A sheep’s bite is never more than skin deep, 110
A shock dog is starved and nobody believes it, 240
A short cut is often a wrong cut, 370
A short halter for a greedy horse, 194
A short mass and a long dinner, 14
A short rest is always good, 384
A short sword for a brave man, 7
A short tail won’t keep off flies, 89
A shut mouth keeps me out of strife, 269
A sick man sleeps, but not a debtor, 215
A silent man’s words are not brought into court, 400
A silly song may be sung in many ways, 368
A silver hammer breaks an iron door, 62
A sin concealed is half pardoned (meaning when care is taken to
conceal the scandal), 45, 119
A sin confessed is half forgiven, 119, 130
A single day grants what a whole year denies, 312
A single penny fairly got, is worth a thousand that are not, 144
A single stroke don’t fell the oak, 173
A slight suspicion may destroy a good repute, 396
A slothful man never has time, 131
A small bolt to the house is better than none at all, 350
A small cloud may hide both sun and moon, 367
A small fire that warms you, is better than a large one that burns
you, 366
A small hatchet fells a great oak, 291
A smart coat is a good letter of introduction, 317
A smooth tongue is better than smooth locks, 350
A soft answer turneth away wrath, 316
A solitary man is either a brute or an angel, 131
A son-in-law’s friendship is a winter’s sun, 199
A sow is always dreaming of bran, 59
A sow may find an acorn as well as a hog, 366
A sow prefers bran to roses, 60
A sparrow in the hand is better than a bustard on the wing, 231
A sparrow in the hand is better than a crane on the wing, 62
A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the roof, 144
A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the wing, 39
A sparrow suffers as much when it breaks its leg as does a Flanders
horse, 366
A spot shows most on the finest cloth, 221
A starved town is soon forced to surrender, 88
A stepmother has a hard hand, 356
A stick is a peacemaker, 7
A stick is soon found to beat a dog, 128
A still sow eats up all the draff, 307
A stingy man is always poor, 20
A stout heart tempers adversity, 89, 270, 320
A Sunday’s child never dies of the plague, 50
A table friend is changeable, 3
A tender-hearted mother makes a scabby daughter, 38, 106
A thankless man never does a thankful deed, 400
A thief makes opportunity, 312
A thief seldom grows rich by thieving, 142
A thief thinks every man steals, 402
A thing done has a head (The exultation of an ancient sculptor on his
satisfactorily completing the head of his statue), 89
A thing is never much talked of but there is some truth in it, 114
A thing is not bad if well understood, 142
A thing lost is a thing known, 13
A thing too much seen is little prized, 13
A thorn comes into the world point foremost, 33
A thousand probabilities do not make one truth, 110
A threatened buffet is never well given, 125
A threatened man lives long, if he can get bread, 383
A threatened man lives longer than one that is hanged, 132
A threatened man lives seven years, 312
A timid man has little chance, 395
A tottering man must lean upon a staff, 399
A tree often transplanted is never loaded with fruit, 69
A tree often transplanted neither grows nor thrives, 240
A true gentleman would rather have his clothes torn than mended, 224
A truth-teller finds the doors closed against him, 363
A truth-telling woman has few friends, 397
A turn of the key is better than the conscience of a friar, 232
A used plough shines, standing water stinks, 149
A usurer, a miller, a banker, and a publican, are the four evangelists
of Lucifer, 316
A vagabond monk never spoke well of his convent, 110
A vicious colt may make a good horse, 38
A vicious dog must be tied short, 3
A voluntary burthen is no burthen, 77
A well-formed figure needs no cloak, 273
A well-wisher sees from afar, 246
A white wall is the fool’s paper, 39, 110
A wicked dog must be tied short, 38
A willing helper does not wait until he is asked, 366
A wise man, a strong man, 176
A wise man and a fool together, know more than a wise man alone, 125
A wise man does at first what a fool must do at last, 123
A wise man may learn of a fool, 62
A wolf hankers after sheep even at his last gasp (The ruling passion
strong in death), 316
A woman and a glass are always in danger, 144, 227
A woman and a hen are soon lost through gadding, 265
A woman and a melon are hard to choose, 18, 219
A woman conceals only what she does not know, 61, 144
A woman laughs when she can, and weeps when she pleases, 18
A woman may be ever so old, if she take fire she will jump, 346
A woman strong in flounces is weak in the head, 145
A woman’s first counsel is the best, 362
A woman’s in pain, a woman’s in woe, a woman is ill when she likes to
be so, 93
A woman’s tears and a dog’s limping are not real, 235
A woman’s tongue is her sword and she does not let it rust, 29
A woman’s vengeance knows no bounds, 176
A woman who accepts, sells herself; a woman who gives, surrenders, 18
A woman who looks much in the glass spins but little, 18
A woman who loves to be at the window is like a bunch of grapes on the
wayside, 93
A word and a stone once let go cannot be recalled, 239, 267
A word from the mouth, a stone from the hand (A word and a blow), 239,
291
A word once out flies everywhere, 44
A word is enough to the wise, 149, 270
A wound foreseen pains the less, 120
A wound never heals so well that the scar cannot be seen, 346
A wreck on shore is a beacon at sea, 316
A young angel, an old devil, 15
A young ewe and an old ram, every year bring forth a lamb, 314
A young foal and an old horse draw not well together, 402
A young wife is an old man’s post-horse to the grave, 156
Abbot of Carçuela, you eat up the pot and ask for the pipkin, 193
About the King and the Inquisition, hush!, 209
Absence is a foe to love; away from the eyes, away from the heart, 204
Absence is a foe to love; out of sight out of mind, 73
Absent, none without blame; present, none without excuse, 1, 233
Abstinence and fasting cure many a complaint, 369
According to his pinions the bird flies, 396
According to the arm be the bleeding, 56
According to the custom of Aragon, good service, bad guerdon, 194
According to the worth of the man is the worth of his land, 58
Act honestly, and answer boldly, 370
Act so in the valley, that you need not fear those who stand on the
hill, 370
Adam got a hoe, and Eve got a spinning-wheel, and thence came all our
nobles, 346
Adam must have an Eve to blame for his own faults, 133
Adversity makes a man wise, 63
Advice after the mischief is like medicine after death, 395
Advice is not compulsion, 166
Advice should precede the act, 166
Advice to a fool goes in at one ear and out at the other, 351
Advisers are not givers, 337
Advisers are not the payers, 34
Advising is easier than helping, 166
Advising is often better than fighting, 166
After a feast a man scratches his head, 4
After a thrifty father, a prodigal son, 200
After breaking my head you bring plaister, 213
After Christmas comes Lent, 163
After death the doctor, 4
After dinner stand a while, or walk nearly half a mile, 163
After ebb comes flood, and friends with good, 334
After great droughts come great rains, 335
After high floods come low ebbs, 335
After honour and state follow envy and hate, 334
After meat comes mustard, 168, 334
After me the deluge, 4
After mischance every one is wise, 4
After one loss come many, 4
After one pope another is made, 93
After one that earns comes one that wastes, 365
After one vice a greater follows, 259
After pleasant scratching comes unpleasant smarting, 365
After rain comes sunshine, 4, 134, 163, 334, 335
After shaving there’s nothing to shear, 4, 93, 275
After stuffing pears within, drink old wine till they swim, 258
After the act wishing is in vain, 4
After the daughter is married, then come sons-in-law in plenty, 47
After the house is finished, he deserts it, 213
After the sour comes the sweet, 335
After the vintage, baskets, 213
Age is a sorry travelling companion, 346
Age makes many a man whiter, but not better, 346
Alas! father, another daughter is born to you, 223
Alas for the son whose father went to heaven, 278
All are brave when the enemy flies, 129
All are not asleep who have their eyes shut, 147
All are not cooks who carry long knives, 147, 325, 352
All are not free who mock their chains, 147
All are not hunters that blow the horn, 40, 147, 352
All are not friends who smile on you, 325
All are not princes who ride with the emperor, 345
All are not saints who go to church, 115
All are not soldiers who go to the wars, 237, 286
All are not thieves whom the dogs bark at, 163
All beginnings are hard, said the thief, and began by stealing an
anvil, 296
All bite the bitten dog, 263
All but saves many a man, 393
All cats are not to be set down for witches, 23
All clouds do not rain, 297
All cocks must have a comb, 297
All covet, all lose, 86, 299
All do not beg for one saint, 237
All do not bite that show their teeth, 345
All flesh is not venison, 59
All freight lightens, said the skipper, when he threw his wife
overboard, 133
All hairy skins must not be singed, 389
All heads are not sense-boxes, 59
All in the way of joke the wolf goes to the ass, 206
All is luck or ill luck in this world, 26
All is not butter that comes from the cow, 112
All is not gold that glitters, 59, 118, 146, 286, 322, 324
All is not lost that is delayed, 11
All is not lost that is in danger, 237
All is well: for if the bride has not fair hair, she has a fair skin,
297
All’s well that ends well, 120, 145, 322, 391
All keys hang not at one woman’s girdle, 347—_see_ All the keys, &c.
All leaf and no fruit, 256
All my goods are of silver and gold, even my copper kettles, says the
boaster, 329
All offices are greasy (_i.e._ open to receive what the Dutch call
smear-money, a term derived from the fee paid for greasing
wheels), 296
All roads lead to Rome (There are more ways to the wood than one), 129
All saints do not work miracles, 129
All ships leak: some midships, some in the bows, some in the hold, 116
All state, and nothing on the plate, 59
All tastes are tastes (There’s no disputing about tastes), 129
All that’s fair must fade, 74
All the brains are not in one head, 129
All the fingers are not alike, 129
All the keys don’t hang at one girdle, 59, 129, 141, 347
All the sheep are not for the wolf, 115
All things of this world are nothing, unless they have reference to
the next, 259
All threateners don’t fight, 312
All too good is every man’s fool (He that makes himself a sheep will
be eaten by the wolf), 299
All truths are not fit to be uttered, 59
All water runs to the sea, 116
All who snore are not asleep, 357
All wish to live long, but not to be called old, 347
All women are good Lutherans, they would rather preach than hear mass,
347
All wooers are rich, and all captives poor, 133
All wool is hair, more or less, 292
Almost kills no man, 393
Almost never killed a fly, 135
Alms do not empty the purse, and a mass does not exhaust the day’s
duty, 347
Alone in counsel, alone in sorrow, 365
Always in love, never married, 59
Always say no, and you will never be married, 16
Always something new, seldom something good, 153
Always taking out, and never putting in, soon reaches the bottom, 194
Always talk big and you will never be forgotten, 16
Always to be sparing is always to be in want, 347
Among men of honour a word is a bond, 99
Among thorns grow roses, 72
An ambassador beareth no blame, 70
An amen clerk, 255
An angry man heeds no counsel, 279
An ape, a priest, and a louse, are three devils in one house, 312
An ape’s an ape, though he wear a gold ring, 312
An apothecary need not be long a cuckold, 60
An art requires a whole man, 61
An ass does not hit himself twice against the same stone, 313
An ass does not stumble twice over the same stone, 60
An ass let him be who brays at an ass, 203
An ass’s tail will not make a sieve, 88
An ass’s trot does not last long, 128
An ass with her colt goes not straight to the mill, 202
An easy shepherd makes the wolf void wood, 3
An eel escapes from a good fisherman, 1
An egg is an egg, said the boor, and took the goose’s egg, 142, 313
An empty purse, and a finished house, make a man wise, but too late,
269
An empty sack won’t stand upright, 124, 144
An enemy does not sleep, 7
An ennobled peasant does not know his own father, 313
An estate inherited is the less valued, 277
An evil deed has a witness in the bosom, 394
An evil eye can see no good, 395
An honest man does not make himself a dog for the sake of a bone, 370
An honest man is not the worse because a dog barks at him, 348
An honest man’s word is as good as the king’s, 279
An honest man’s word is his bond, 313
An hour of play discovers more than a year of conversation, 281
An idle brain is the devil’s workshop, 162
An idle man is the devil’s bolster, 131, 314
An ill-tempered dog has a scarred nose, 380
An ill-tempered woman is the devil’s door-nail, 394
An inch in a sword, or a palm in a lance, is a great advantage, 211
An inch too short is as bad as an ell, 313
An indulgent mother makes a sluttish daughter, 313
An innocent heart suspects no guile, 273
An oak is not felled at one blow, 213, 261
An old ape never made a pretty grimace, 41
An old coachman loves the crack of the whip, 138, 315
An old dog does not bark for nothing, 63, 76
An old dog does not grow used to the collar, 77
An old flag is an honour to its captain, 74
An old fool is worse than a young simpleton, 370
An old fox doesn’t go twice into the trap, 142, 315
An old horse for a young soldier, 68
An old man’s sayings are seldom untrue, 370
An old mule with a golden bridle (_we say_, An old ewe dressed
lamb-fashion), 315
An old oven is easier to heat than a new one, 63
An old ox makes a straight furrow, 63, 75, 206, 270
An old quarrel is easily renewed, 89
An old rat easily finds a hole, 315
An old rat won’t go into the trap, 315
An old wolf is not scared by loud cries, 370
An old wolf is used to be shouted at, 315
An open box tempts an honest man, 284
An open door tempts a saint, 242
Another man’s burden is always light, 384
Another man’s horse and your own spurs outrun the wind, 148
Another man’s horse and your own whip can do a great deal, 365
Another man’s trade costs money, 288
Another year will bring another Christmas, 367
Another’s bread costs dear, 239, 291
Another’s care hangs by a hair, 210
Another’s misfortune does not cure my pain, 282
Another’s misfortune is only a dream, 37
An ounce of discretion is better than a pound of knowledge, 131
An ounce of favour goes further (or is worth more) than a pound of
justice, 61