continued from: http://ludmilakonyaeva.blogspot.ru/2012/08/the-50-most-important-english-proverbs.html Proverbs are wise sayings that
are remembered and repeated. The ones below are so popular that you will often
hear them in daily conversation. If you're trying to learn
English, it would be a great idea to memorize these proverbs. By memorizing them, you will not
only learn some common English sayings; you will also help your brain to become
better at forming good English sentences. So here are 50 more awesome
sayings that English speakers use:
1. "A
broken clock is right twice a day."
When an old clock stops
working, it shows one specific time but doesn't move. So once in the day and
once at night, the clock is pointing to the correct time. In the same way, even
a person who's not very smart can sometimes be correct by accident.
2. "A friend in need is a friend indeed."
If someone helps you when
you're in trouble, that person is a true friend.
3. "A
little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Sometimes when a person knows
a little bit about something, they feel like they're an expert. Because they
feel like an expert, they try to do things that they shouldn't and they mess
everything up.
4. "A
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Some things, like learning to
speak English fluently, take a really long time. It might seem like too much
work. But the only way to achieve your goals is to start working now.
5. "All is fair in love and war."
In love and romance, you
sometimes do things that aren't very nice. For example, you might break up with
someone or steal another person's partner. This phrase means that that's OK.
6. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
You can't work all of the
time. You have to relax as well.
7. "Better safe than sorry."
You should be careful, even if it seems like it's not
necessary. The consequences if something goes wrong are much worse than wasting
a little time and effort by being careful.
8. "Better the devil you know than the one you don't."
When you have a choice between
two bad things, it's safer to pick the bad thing that you've already
experienced. The other bad thing might be worse.
9. "Don't
judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes."
Sometimes people criticize each other. But it's not
fair to criticize someone else if you haven't had the same experiences.
10. "Don't put the cart before the horse."
Pay attention to what's most important. Don't let
things which aren't as important take up all of your time and attention.
11. "Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the
walk."
You shouldn't brag about being able to do something if
you can't actually do it.
12. "Don't throw out the baby with the bath water."
When you're trying to get rid of something bad, you
might accidentally get rid of the good things that are connected with it as
well. Don't do that.
13. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and
wise."
This is a quotation from the famous American inventor
and diplomat Benjamin Franklin. It means it's healthy and smart to go to sleep
early and wake up early.
14. "Every
cloud has a silver lining."
When something bad happens to you, don't get too
upset. There's usually something good associated with any bad experience. For
example, if you get fired from your job, it might push you to get a better job
instead.
15. "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to fish, he
eats for a lifetime."
Don't try to help people by
just giving them things. The result will be temporary. If you want to help
someone long-term, teach them how to do things on their own.
16. "Great minds think alike."
Smart people often have the same ideas. Say this when
someone has the same smart idea that you have.
17. "Haste makes waste."
When you try to work too
quickly, you make mistakes. That can waste time, money, or materials. So slow
down.
18. "Hindsight is 20/20"
It's easy to know what you
should have done in the past, but making correct decisions is harder in the
moment. This phrase means that you shouldn't judge someone's past decisions
based on the information you know now.
19. "If at
first you don't succeed, try, try again."
Keep working hard and trying to succeed, even if you
fail at first.
20. "If
wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
Don't spend a lot of time wishing for things. Wishes
are useless. Instead of wishing, you should work hard to achieve your goals.
21. "If you
snooze, you lose."
You have to act quickly to get the things you want.
22. "If you don't have anything nice to say,
don't say anything at all."
Don't say mean things about other people.
23. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the
problem."
Don't just complain about
problems that you see. Do something to solve the problems.
24. "It's no use crying over spilled milk."
If you break something, lose
money, etc., don't get too upset about it. It's already happened, so getting
upset isn't useful.
25. "It's not over 'till the fat lady sings."
Say this in a competition or
game. When other people think that the result has already been decided, but
you're not ready to admit that it's finished, use this phrase.
26. "Jack
of all trades, master of none."
Someone who is good at a lot of different skills is
usually not very good at any of them.
27. "Knowledge is power."
You should try to learn a lot. Knowing more things
makes you more powerful.
28. "Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas."
If you associate with
dishonest people, bad things will happen to you.
29. "Look before you leap."
Make decisions carefully. Don't make a decision
without thinking about it and researching it carefully.
30. "Measure twice, cut once."
Once you've made some decisions, it's hard to change
it. Think carefully before making a decision.
31. "Misery
loves company."
People who are unhappy want to make other people
unhappy too.
32. "Never
put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do today."
Don't be lazy. If you have
some work that you need to do, do it now. Don't wait to do it later.
33. "Power
corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
When people get power, they always do mean, dishonest
things. We shouldn't allow anyone to have too much power.
34. "Rome
wasn't built in a day."
Doing important work takes a long time. Be patient.
35. "Slow
and steady wins the race."
You shouldn't use all of your energy at the beginning
of a project. Work slowly so that you won't run out of energy quickly.
36. "Still
waters run deep."
People who don't talk a lot sometimes have really
interesting thoughts.
37. "Strike
while the iron is hot."
When you have a good opportunity, go for it. Don't
wait for too long.
38. "The
apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
Children are very similar to their parents.
39. "The
road to hell is paved with good intentions."
What you want or intend to do doesn't matter. Your
actions matter. Simply wanting to do the right thing isn't enough; you have to
actually do the right thing.
40. "The
best way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
Men love women who can cook
well.
41. "There's
no such thing as bad publicity."
When people talk about a business, it's good for the
business, even if they're saying bad things about it.
42. "Time
is money."
Wasting time is expensive, so hurry up!
43. "Two is
company, three is a crowd."
You say this when you want to be alone with someone
(often because you are romantically interested in them) but someone else is
also with you. In other words, you want the third person to go away.
44. "What
goes around comes around."
If you do bad things to other people, bad things will
happen to you. On the other hand, good things will happen to you if you do good
things to other people.
45. "What goes up must come down."
Nothing can continue to
increase forever. Everything that grows or rises will shrink or fall
eventually.
46. "What's
good for the goose is good for the gander."
A goose is a type of bird. A gander is the male
version of that bird. So this phrase means that things which are good for women
are also good for men, and vice versa.
47. "You
can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
To get what you want, be nice to people. Don't yell at
them or be mean.
48. "You
can't have your cake and eat it too."
This means that you can't have everything you want.
There are trade-offs in life. You may also hear people say that you can have
your cake and eat it too.
49. "You
can't teach an old dog new tricks."
Older people don't change their habits easily.
50. "You
reap what you sow."
Your actions have consequences. When you do good
things, good things happen to you. When you do bad things, bad things happen to
you.
