An ounce of mother-wit is worth a pound of school-wit, 143
An ounce of patience is worth a pound of brains, 315
An ounce of state to a pound of gold, 238
An ox and an ass don’t yoke well to the same plough, 315
An unasked excuse infers transgression, 107
An unpleasant guest is as welcome as salt to a sore eye, 394
Anger hears no counsel, 191
Anger increases love, 125
Anger is a short madness, 320
Anger without power is folly (Anger can’t stand, without a strong
hand), 191
Anoint a villain and he will prick you, prick a villain and he will
anoint you, 41
Any excuse is good if it hold good, 117
Anything for a quiet life, 69
Any water will put out fire, 59, 116
Apes remain apes, though you clothe them in velvet, 133
Appearances are deceitful, 167
Appetite comes with eating, 30, 110
Are there not spots on the sun? 35
Argus at home, a mole abroad, 104
Arms and money require good hands, 202
Arms carry peace, 107
Arms, women, and books should be looked at daily, 342
Arrange your cloak as the wind blows, 38
Art and knowledge bring bread and honour, 383
Art holds fast when all else is lost, 157
Art is art, even though unsuccessful, 383
As a man dresses so is he esteemed, 396
As a man eats, so he works (Quick at meat, quick at work), 187
As a thing is used, so it brightens, 187
As are the times, so are the manners, 243
As fast as laws are devised, their evasion is contrived, 169
As for friars, live with them, eat with them, and walk with them;
then sell them as they do themselves, 223
As fortune is sought, so it is found (Good luck, with good looking
after! _or_, As you make your bed, so you must lie on it), 188
As is the king, so are his people, 243
As is the lover, so is the beloved, 122
As is the master so are his men (Like master, like man), 398
As is the master, so is his dog, 243
As long as I was a daughter-in-law I never had a good mother-in-law,
and as long as I was a mother-in-law I never had a good
daughter-in-law, 221
As old as the itch, 261
As poor as a church mouse, 121
As princes fiddle, subjects must dance, 175
As soon as man is born he begins to die, 154
As soon dies the calf as the cow, 6
As the abbot sings, the sacristan responds, 209
As the field, so the crops; as the father, so the sons, 187
As the labour, so the pay (No pains, no gains), 187
As the man is, so is his speech, 398
As the man is worth, his land is worth, 58
As the master, so the work, 187
As the mistress, so the maid (Hackney mistress, Hackney maid), 187
As the old birds sing, the young ones twitter, 187, 398
As the tree, so the fruit, 187
As the tree, so the fruit; as the mistress; so the maid, 187
As the virtue in the tree, such is the fruit, 352
As the wind so the sail (Set your sail to the wind), 56
As they pipe to me, I will dance, 273
As useless as monkey’s fat, 212
As water runs towards the shore, so does money towards the rich man’s
hand, 347
As won, so spent (Lightly come, lightly go), 187
As you began the dance you may pay the piper, 319
As you make your bed so you must lie on it, 13, 187, 250, 398
As you sow, you shall reap, 187, 345
As you would have a daughter so choose a wife, 122
Ask advice of your equals, help of your superiors, 398
Ask my chum if I am a thief, 93
Ask my comrade, who is as great a liar as myself, 15
Ask not after a good man’s pedigree, 196
Ask too much to get enough, 239
Ask which was born first, the hen or the egg, 93
Asking costs little, 102
Assertion is no proof, 135
Asses carry the oats and horses eat them, 304
Asses must not be tied up with horses, 23
Asses sing badly because they pitch their voices too high, 147
Associate with the good and you will be one of them, 66, 197
At a bridge, a plank, or a river, the servant foremost, the master
behind, 63
At a dangerous passage yield precedence, 76
At a great river be the last to pass, 68
At a good bargain pause and ponder, 65
At a little fountain one drinks at one’s ease, 4
At an ambuscade of villains a man does better with his feet than his
hands, 194
At an auction keep your mouth shut, 221
At an open chest the righteous sins, 68
At borrowing cousin german, at repaying son of a whore, 6
At court there are many hands, but few hearts, 191
At court they sell a good deal of smoke without fire, 401
At evening the sluggard is busy, 133
At last the foxes all meet at the furrier’s, 129
At night all cats are grey, 191, 212, 274
At Rome do as Rome does, 5
At Shrovetide every one has need of his frying-pan, 1
At table bashfulness is out of place, 73
At the end of the game we see who wins, 69
At the end the Gloria is chanted, 196
At the king’s court every one for himself, 17
At the wars do as they do at the wars, 3
At the wedding-feast the least eater is the bride, 221
Avarice bursts the bag, 31
Avoid a friend who covers you with his wings and destroys you with
his beak, 254
Away from the battle all are soldiers (Of war all can tattle, away
from the battle), 176
Away with thee, sickness, to where they make a good pillow for thee,
197
“Away with you, be a pedlar, a knave,” says the hangman to his man,
149
B.
Bachelor, a peacock; betrothed, a lion; married, an ass, 258
Bad bird, bad egg, 136
“Bad company,” said the thief, as he went to the gallows between the
hangman and a monk, 331
Bad egg, bad chick, 331
Bad eyes never see any good, 136
Bad grass does not make good hay, 92
Bad is never good until worse happens, 394
Bad is the sack that will not bear patching, 77
Bad is the wool that cannot be died, 77
Bad money always comes back, 167
Bad news always comes too soon, 171
Bad news has wings, 35
Bad news is always true, 228
Bad news is the first to come, 108
Bad ware is never cheap, 42
Bad ware must be cried up, 136
Bad watch often feeds the wolf, 29
Bargains are costly, 190, 229
Barking dogs don’t bite, 13, 135, 301
Bashfulness is of no use to the needy, 306
Baskets after the vintage, 275
Be a custom good or bad, a peasant will have it continue in force, 210
Be a horse ever so well shod, he may slip, 25
Be merry, Shrovetide, for to-morrow thou wilt be ashes, 196
Be my enemy and go to my mill, 256
Be not a baker if your head is butter, 237
Be not an esquire where you were a page, 214
Be not ashamed of your craft, 167
Be silent, or say something better than silence, 168
Be the horse good or bad always wear your spurs, 66
Be the thing you would be called (Be as you would seem to be), 169
Be truly what thou wouldst be thought to be, 57
Bear and bull catch no fox, 135
Bear patiently that which thou sufferest by thine own fault, 341
Beat the churl and he will be your friend, 74
Beauty and folly are often companions, 7, 75
Beauty carries its dower in its face, 352
Beauty is a good letter of introduction, 141
Beauty is but dross if honesty be lost, 337
Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent, 367
Bees do not become hornets, 33
Before a man learns to hang he is half dead, 368
Before the time great courage; when at the point, great fear, 200
Before you make a friend, eat a peck of salt with him, 296
Before you marry, beware, for it is a knot difficult to untie, 200
Before you marry consider what you do, 292
Before you marry, have a house to live in, fields to till, and vines
to cut, 200
Before you marry reflect, for it is a knot you cannot untie, 266
Before you mount, look to the girth, 317
Beggars must not be choosers, 201
Beginning and ending shake hands, 134
Begun is half done, 135
Behind every mountain lies a vale, 296
Believe a boaster as you would a liar, 89
Believe that, and drink some water (to wash it down), 14
Belles are not for the beaux, 34
Bells call to church but do not enter, 34
Bend the willow while it is young, 120, 390
Better a bird in the hand than ten in the air, 301
Better a blind horse than an empty halter, 300
Better a distant good than a near evil, 281
Better a good dinner than a fine coat, 38
Better a friendly denial than an unwilling compliance, 135
Better a friend’s bite than an enemy’s caress, 350
Better a lean agreement than a fat lawsuit, 97, 135—_see_ A bad or a
lean, &c.
Better a leg broken than the neck, 300
Better a little in peace and with right, than much with anxiety and
strife, 351
Better a living dog than a dead lion, 135
Better a near neighbour than a distant cousin, 110
Better a patch than a hole, 135
Better a poor horse than an empty stall. Better half a loaf than none
at all. Better a little furniture than an empty house, 350
Better a red face than a black heart, 283
Better a ruined than a lost land, 39, 300
Better a salt herring on your own table, than a fresh pike on
another’s, 349
Better a slip of the foot than the tongue, 39
Better a sparrow in the hand than two flying, 283
Better afield with the birds than hanging on lords, 301
Better alone than in bad company, 96, 135, 232, 282, 300
Better an ass that carries me than a horse that throws me, 281
Better an open enemy than a false friend, 349
Better an unjust peace than a just war (Better a lean peace than a
fat victory), 171
Better anticipate than be anticipated, 283
Better ask than go astray, 96
Better ask twice than lose your way once, 358
Better aught than nought, 110, 147
Better badly mounted than proud on foot, 167
Better be a bird of the wood than a bird in the cage, 96
Better be a coward than foolhardy, 38
Better be a free bird than a captive king, 349
Better be carried by an ass than thrown by a horse, 300
Better be convinced by words than by blows, 358
Better be envied than pitied, 27, 38, 96, 300
Better be killed by robbers than by the kick of an ass, 266
Better be mad with all the world than wise alone, 26
Better be one-eyed than quite blind, 283
Better be silent than talk ill, 281
Better be the head of a cat than the tail of a lion, 96
Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion, 38
Better be the head of a lizard than the tail of a dragon, 96
Better be the head of a rat than the tail of a lion (Better rule in
hell, than serve in heaven), 231
Better be wrong with the many than right with the few, 283
Better beg than steal, 322
Better belly burst than good victuals spoil, 300
Better bend than break, 97, 159, 232, 283
Better blow hard than burn yourself, 349
Better coarse cloth than naked thighs, 350
Better come late to church than never, 349
Better cross an angry man than a fasting man, 358
Better deny at once than promise long, 350
Better deserve honour and not have it, than have it and not deserve
it, 282
Better envy than pity, 159
Better fall from the window than the roof, 96
Better fed than taught, 38
Better free in a foreign land than a serf at home, 135
Better gain in mud than lose in gold, 121, 281
Better give nothing than stolen alms, 136
Better give than have to give, 96
Better give the wool than the sheep, 96
Better go about than be drowned, 231, 281
Better go to bed supperless than run in debt, 136
Better half an egg than empty shells, 135, 301
Better have a bad ass than be your own ass, 232, 282
Better have a dog for your friend than your enemy (Better a dog fawn
on you than bite you), 301
Better have an egg to-day than a hen to-morrow, 96
Better have a friend on the road than gold or silver in your purse, 38
Better have friends in the market-place than money in your coffer, 281
Better have one bee than a host of flies, 96
Better have something yourself than beg of your sister, 350
Better have to give than have to beg, 283
Better in an old carriage than in a new ship, 350
Better is a leap over the ditch than the entreaties of good men, 282
Better is an enemy to good, 102, 136
Better is better, 135
Better is my neighbour’s hen than mine, 283
Better is rule than rent, 231
Better is the branch that bends, than the branch that breaks, 350
Better is the smoke of my own house than the fire of another’s, 231
Better keep peace than make peace, 301
Better keep than have to beg, 281
Better late than never, 39, 97, 110, 232, 282, 301, 351
Better lose than lose more, 282
Better lose the anchor than the whole ship, 301
Better lose the saddle than the horse, 97
Better lose the wool than the sheep, 39
Better lose your labour than your time in idleness, 335
Better make a short circuit than wet your hose, 343
Better mine than ours, 283
Better no law, than law not enforced, 350
Better on the heath with an old cart than at sea in a new ship, 301
Better once in heaven than ten times at the gate, 301
Better once than never, 97
Better one-eyed than stone blind, 135, 232
Better one eye-witness than ten hearsay witnesses, 300
Better one living word than a hundred dead ones, 135
Better one “Take this,” than two “I will give you,” 232, 281
Better poor on land than rich at sea, 300
Better poor with honour than rich with shame, 300
Better reap two days too soon than one too late, 332
Better repair the gutter than the whole house, 283
Better return half way than lose yourself, 301
Better ride a good horse for a year, than an ass all your life, 301
Better slip with the foot than with the tongue, 97
Better something on the arm than all in the stomach, 351
Better something than nothing at all, 136
Better spare at the brim than at the bottom, 349
Better squinting than blind, 301
Better straw, than nothing, 283
Better stretch your hand than your neck (Better beg than steal), 300
Better stumble once than be always tottering, 27
Better suffer a known evil than change for uncertain good, 231
Better suffer for truth, than prosper by falsehood, 349
Better the child cry, than the mother sigh, 349
Better the child cry than the old man, 349
Better the world should know you as a sinner than God know you as a
hypocrite, 349
Better, There he goes, than There he hangs, 135
Better there should be too much than too little, 231
Better they should say, “There he ran away,” than “There he died,” 231
Better to be a free bird than a captive king, 349
Better twice measured than once wrong, 350
Better twice remembered than once forgotten, 324
Better walk before a hen than behind an ox, 39
Better walk on wooden legs than be carried on a wooden bier, 351
Better walk unshackled in a green meadow than be bound to a
thornbush, 349
Better weak beer than an empty cask, 350
Better where birds sing than where irons ring, 301
Better whole than patched with gold, 350
Between a woman’s “Yes” and “No” there is no room for the point of a
needle, 192
Between evil tongues and evil ears, there is nothing to choose, 394
Between neighbours’ gardens a hedge is not amiss, 192
Between promising and giving a man should marry his daughter, 17
Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out, 99
Between saying and doing there is a long road, 211, 390
Between smith and smith no money passes, 211, 274
Between the hammer and the anvil, 192, 339
Between the hand and the mouth the soup is often spilt (’Twixt the
cup and the lip there’s many a slip), 15, 90, 173, 211, 274
Between two cowards, he has the advantage who first detects the
other, 128
Between two friends, a notary and two witnesses, 222
Between two sharpers, the sharpest, 211
Between two stools the breech comes to the ground, 17, 339
Between wording and working is a long road, 173
Between wrangling and disputing truth is lost, 190
Beware, froth is not beer, 397
Beware of a bad woman, and put no trust in a good one, 211, 273
Beware of a door that has many keys, 285
Beware of a man that does not talk, and of a dog that does not bark,
279
Beware of a pledge that eats, 291
Beware of a poor alchemist, 100
Beware of a reconciled friend as of the devil, 210
Beware of a reconciled enemy (Take heed of an enemy reconciled), 22
Beware of a white Spaniard and a black Englishman, 336
Beware of “Had I but known,” 100
Beware of him who makes you presents, 90
Beware of laughing hosts and weeping priests, 174
Beware of one who has nothing to lose, 100
Beware of the dog himself, his shadow does not bite, 402
Beware of the dog that does not bark, 272
Beware of the man of two faces, 342
Beware of the vinegar of sweet wine, 100
Biding makes thriving, 301
Big churches, little saints, 151
Big fish devour the little ones, 321
Big fish spring out of the kettle, 320
Big flies break the spider’s web, 104
Big head, little wit, 19, 140
Big mouthfuls often choke, 100
Big words seldom go with good deeds, 399
Bird never flew so high but it had to come to the ground for food, 302
Birds of a feather flock together, 173, 341
Birds of prey do not flock together, 276
Birds of prey do not sing, 166
Bite me not, my name is little grizzle; had I a little tail I should
be a little lion, 301
Bite not the dog that bites, 388
Bite the biter, 283
Bitter pills are gilded, 136
Black cows give white milk, 168
Black hens lay white eggs, 313
Blacksmith’s children are not afraid of sparks, 398
Blame is the lazy man’s wages, 354
Bleed him, purge him, and if he dies, bury him, 256, 299
Blessed is the misfortune that comes alone, 75
Blessings on him that said, Face about, 206
Blood boils without fire, 228
Blood is thicker than water, 136
Blossoms are not fruits, 301
Blow, smith, and you’ll get money, 258
Blows are not given upon conditions, 101
Boldly ventured is half won, 148
Borderers are either thieves or murderers, 99
Borrowers must not be choosers, 23
Borrowing brings care (He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing), 302
Borrowing does well only once, 136
Both legs in the stocks or only one, ’tis all the same, 161
Brackish water is sweet in a drought, 264
Bread in one hand, a stone in the other, 154
Bread is better than the song of birds, 349
Bring up a raven and he will peck out your eyes, 16, 145
Broad thongs may be cut from other men’s leather, 91
Broken friendship may be soldered but can never be made sound, 265
Build golden bridges for the flying foe, 137
But for all that the honest man has not got his purse, 10
Butter spoils no meat, and moderation injures no cause, 398
Buy the bed of a great debtor, 88
Buy when it is market time, 160
Buy your greyhound, don’t rear him, 278
Buy your neighbour’s ox, and woo your neighbour’s daughter, 156
Buyers want a hundred eyes, sellers only one, 156
Buying is cheaper than asking, 156
By beating love decays, 6
By candlelight a goat looks like a lady, 2
By dint of going wrong all will come right, 2
By falling we learn to go safely, 334
By gnawing skin a dog learns to eat leather, 346
By going gains the mill, and not by standing still, 266
By labour fire is got out of a stone, 334
By lamplight every country wench seems handsome, 70
By night all cats are grey, 30, 92, 135, 301
By slow degrees the bird builds his nest, 331
By telling our woes we often assuage them, 5
By the living we bury the dead, 334
By the street of “By-and-by” one arrives at the house of “Never,” 241
By the thread we unwind the skein, 241
By their marks the bales are known, 72
By working in the smithy one becomes a smith, 17
C.
Cabbage for cabbage, 13
Call me not fortunate till you see me buried, 236
Call me not olive till you see me gathered, 113, 236
Call not the devil, he will come fast enough unbidden, 382
Cap in hand never did any harm, 75
Care, and not fine stables, makes a good horse, 374
Care brings on grey hairs, and age without years, 169
Caress your dog, and he’ll spoil your clothes, 338
Carry bread in your hood to Don Garcia’s wedding, 195
Caution is the mother of tender beer-glasses, 341
Cent-wisdom and dollar-folly (Penny wise and pound foolish), 302
Chairs sink and stools rise, 263
Change yourself, and fortune will change with you, 284
Charity begins at home, 306
Charity gives (or bestows) itself rich, covetousness hoards itself
poor, 138
Charity well regulated begins at home, 226
Chastise a good child, that it may not grow bad, and a bad one, that
it may not grow worse, 389
Chastise one that is worthless, and he will presently hate you, 208
Chastise the good and he will mend, chastise the bad and he will grow
worse, 74, 272
Cheat me in the price and not in the goods, 221, 277
Cheating is more honourable than stealing, 136
Cheating is the chapman’s cart and plough, 136
Cheerful company shortens the miles, 149
Cheerfulness and good-will make labour light, 385
Cheese and bread make the cheeks red, 156
Cheese from the ewe, milk from the goat, butter from the cow, 245
Cheese is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night, 156
Cherries are bitter to the glutted blackbird, 3
Children and drunken men speak the truth, 397
Children and fools are prophets, 16
Children and fools speak the truth, 157, 230
Children are certain sorrow, but uncertain joy, 351
Children are the riches of the poor, 351
Children are what they are made, 34
Children married, cares increased, 278
Children tell in the highway what they hear by the fireside, 275
Choose a Brabant sheep, a Guelder ox, a Flemish capon, and a
Friezeland cow, 335
Choose neither a woman nor linen by candlelight, 227
Chop, and you will have splinters, 379
Christians have no neighbours, 136
Christmas comes but once a year, 111
Christmas is talked of so long that it comes at last, 41
Claw me, and I’ll claw thee, 157, 167, 187, 331
Clay and lime conceal much evil, 204
Clothes make the man, 305
Coffee has two virtues, it is wet and warm, 330
Cold hand, a warm heart, 156
Colts by falling, and lads by losing, grow prudent, 242
Come fish, come frog, all goes into the basket (All’s fish that comes
to the net), 255
Common fame is seldom to blame, 149
Common fame seldom lies (_An English proverb says_, Common fame is a
common liar), 319
Common goods, no goods, 319
Communities begin by building their kitchen, 13
Company in distress makes trouble less, 51
Comparison is not proof, 14
Comparisons are odious, 14, 59, 104
Conceal not your secret from your friend, or you deserve to lose him,
263
Confidence begets confidence, 173
Conscience is as good as a thousand witnesses, 105
Constant dropping wears the stone, 169
Contrivance is better than force, 38
Copper begets copper, and not (the labour of) men’s bones (_We say_,
Money gets money), 208
Correction bringeth fruit, 339
Correction is good when administered in time, 348
Corsair against corsair, nothing to win but empty casks, 128, 210
Could a man foresee events he would never be poor, 52
Could everything be done twice, everything would be done better, 157
Counsel after action is like rain after harvest, 395
Counsel before action, 337
Counsel is nothing against love, 89
Counted sheep are eaten by the wolf, 9
Counterfeit coin passes current at night, 283
Coupled sheep drown one another, 319
Courtesy that is all on one side cannot last long, 14
Cover up the pot, there’s an eel in it, 306
Covetousness bursts the bag, 226
Covetousness is never satisfied till its mouth is filled with earth,
319
Coward against coward, the assailant conquers, 212
Cowards have no luck, 190
Cowards’ weapons neither cut nor pierce, 107
Crazy wheels run longest, 166
Creaking carts last the longest, 331
Credit is better than ready money, 150
Credit is dead, bad pay killed it, 89
Crooked iron may be straightened with a hammer, 383
Crooked wood burns quite as well as straight, 157
Crows do not peck out crows’ eyes, 273
Cunning has little honour, 384
Cunning men’s cloaks sometimes fall, 72
Cunning surpasses strength, 159
Curses are like processions: they return to whence they came, 108
Curses on accounts with relations, 254
Custom becomes law, 210
Custom is second nature, 105, 150, 226, 305, 319
Cut off the dog’s tail, he remains a dog, 127
Cut your coat according to your cloth, 337
D.
Damage suffered makes you wise (or knowing), but seldom rich, 346
Darkness and night are mothers of thought, 322
Daughter-in-law hates mother-in-law, 169
Daughters are easy to rear, but hard to marry, 170
Daughters are brittle ware, 311
Daughters may be seen but not heard, 311
Daylight will come, though the cock do not crow, 358
Dead dogs don’t bite, 170, 312
Dear is cheap, and cheap is dear, 288
Dear physic always does good, if not to the patient, at least to the
apothecary, 170
Dearness gluts, 13
Dearth foreseen never came, 77
Death does not blow a trumpet, 363
Death is in the pot, 322
Death keeps no almanack, 304
Death spares neither Pope nor beggar, 294
Deceit and treachery make no man rich, 346
Deceive not thy physician, confessor, or lawyer, 197
Deeds are love, and not sweet words (or fine phrases), 238, 287
Deep draughts, and long morning slumbers, soon make a man poor, 399
Deep swimmers and high climbers seldom die in their beds, 310
Deferred is not annulled (Forbearance is no acquittance), 172
Delays are dangerous, 109
Desire beautifies what is ugly, 217
Desperate ills require desperate remedies, 7
Despise not a small wound, a poor kinsman, or an humble enemy, 381
Despise your enemy and you will soon be beaten, 275
Devils must be driven out with devils, 170
Diamond cut diamond, 18
Different times different manners, 70
Diligent work makes a skilful workman, 380
Dirty water does not wash clean, 67