Proverbs - meanings

"The best things in life are free."

We don't have to pay for the things that are really valuable, like love, friendship and good
health.
"A stitch in time saves nine."
Repair something as soon as it is damaged. That's a small repair job. f not, you !ill have
a much bigger and more e"pensive repair job later. #o it no! and you'll need one stitch.
#o it later and you'll need $ stitches% &Why nine and not eight or ten' (ecause "nine"
rhymes,appro"imately. !ith "time".)
stitch &noun) * a link made !ith thread in se!ing
in time * not late
"+till !aters run deep."
+ome rivers have rough surfaces !ith !aves. That's usually because the !ater is shallo!
and there are rocks near the surface. (ut deep rivers have no rocks near the surface and
the !ater is smooth and still. "+till !aters run deep" means that people !ho are calm and
tran,uil on the outside, often have a strong, "deep" personality.
still &adjective) * calm, motionless
deep &adjective) * going far do!n
"-e teaches ill, !ho teaches all."
The unusual structure of this proverb may make it difficult to understand. t becomes
easier if !e change the structure to "-e !ho teaches all teaches ill." The !ord "ill" here
means "badly". +o it means that the teacher !ho teaches students everything, does not
teach !ell. A good teacher lets students discover some things for themselves.
ill &adverb) * badly
".ou can't take it !ith you !hen you die."
When !e die !e leave everything on earth. We don't take anything !ith us. /ven the
richest people cannot take their money !ith them after death. This proverb reminds us
that some material things are not really so valuable as !e think.
"(etter untaught than ill taught."
This proverb drops the verb "to be". (ut !e understand0 "t is better not to be taught at all
than to be taught badly." t's better not to learn something than to learn it badly. This idea
is echoed in 1ope's famous line0 "A little learning is a dang'rous thing2".
taught * past participle of verb "teach" &here used in passive voice)
ill taught * badly taught
"#on't cross your bridges before you come to them."
#on't !orry about problems before they arrive.
"+oon learnt, soon forgotten."
+omething that is easy to learn is easy to forget.
"/ven a !orm !ill turn."
/verybody !ill revolt if driven too far. /ven the lo!est of people, or animals, !ill revolt
and hit back at some stage. /ven a !orm, the simplest of animals, !ill defend itself.
!orm &noun) * small thin animal !ith soft body and no bones or legs
turn &verb) * revolt, fight back
"t !as the last stra! that broke the camel's back."
There is a limit to everything. We can load the camel !ith lots of stra!, but finally it !ill
be too much and the camel's back !ill break. And it is only a single stra! that breaks its
back 3 the last stra!. This can be applied to many things in life. 1eople often say "That's
the last stra!%" !hen they !ill not accept any more of something.
stra! &noun) * dried stalk of grain &like dry piece of grass)
camel &noun) * large long3necked animal used for riding and carrying goods in
the desert
"The !ay to a man's heart is through his stomach."
4any !omen have !on a man's love by cooking delicious meals for him. They fed his
stomach and found love in his heart.
!ay &noun) * path2 route
"f the stone fall upon the egg, alas for the egg% f the egg fall upon the stone,
alas for the egg%"
5ife just isn't fair, and this realistic Arabic proverb recogni6es that. The stone !ill al!ays
break the egg. 5ife's like that%
alas * bad luck2 pity2 tough2 regrettable
"Where there's a !ill there's a !ay."
f !e have the determination to do something, !e can al!ays find the path or method to
do it.
!ill &noun) * strong determination, desire.
!ay &noun) * path, method
"4arry in haste, and repent at leisure."
f !e get married ,uickly, !ithout thinking carefully, !e may be sorry later. And !e !ill
have plenty of time to be sorry.
in haste * ,uickly
repent &verb) * feel sorry, regret
at leisure * slo!ly, over time
"7ne tongue is enough for a !oman."
+ome people think that !omen talk too much. f they already talk too much, they don't
need another tongue. 7ne tongue is sufficient. This proverb is another !ay of saying that
!omen talk too much.
tongue &noun) * large, movable fleshy part in the mouth that !e use for talking
and tasting
"f you !ish good advice, consult an old man."
7ld people have a lot of e"perience. f you !ant to have good advice or
recommendations, ask an old person, not a young one.
!ish &verb) * !ant, desire
advice &noun) * recommendation as to !hat to do
consult &verb) * ask2 go to for advice or information
"The best advice is found on the pillo!."
f !e have a problem, !e may find the ans!er after a good night's sleep. 1eople also
often say0 "'ll sleep on it."
advice &noun) * recommendation as to !hat to do
pillo! &noun) * cushion that you rest your head on !hile you sleep
"All clouds bring not rain."
We can rephrase this0 "8ot every cloud brings rain." And that's true. +ometimes there are
many clouds in the sky, but it doesn't rain. +ometimes it's the same !ith problems, or
!hat !e think are problems.
".ou can't tell a book by its cover."
We need to read a book to kno! if it's good or bad. We cannot kno! !hat it's like just by
looking at the front or back cover. This proverb is applied to everything, not only books.
"(ad ne!s travels fast."
"(ad ne!s" means ne!s about "bad" things like accidents, death, illness etc. 1eople tend
to tell this type of ne!s ,uickly. (ut "good ne!s" &passing an e"am, !inning some
money, getting a job etc) travels more slo!ly.
"8o ne!s is good ne!s."
This is like the proverb "(ad ne!s travels fast." f !e are !aiting for ne!s about
someone, it's probably good if !e hear nothing because "bad ne!s" !ould arrive ,uickly.
"5ive and let live."
This proverb suggest that !e should not interfere in other people's business. We should
live our o!n lives and let others live their lives. The title of the famous 9ames (ond story
Live and Let Die !as a play on this proverb.
"(irds of a feather flock together."
"(irds of a feather" means "birds of the same type". The !hole proverb means that
people of the same type or sort stay together. They don't mi" !ith people of another type.
feather &noun) * part of the soft, light covering of a bird's body
flock &verb) * gather in a cro!d
"Tell me !ho you go !ith and 'll tell you !ho you are."
+imilar to "(irds of a feather...", this proverb suggests that like minds stick together.