Sayings
Nasty or bad people have a habit of
showing up or returning.
It's better to have one of something
for certain than to run after two of the same thing and not be sure of getting
them.
If one link in a chain is weak, and
all the other links are strong, the whole chain is weak.
Stupid people spend their money
carelessly and soon become poor.
If a woman is happy with her
husband, she will be a good mate for him.
This saying talks about the
difficulties for women in finding a suitable male partner.
Your good reputation is worth more
than money.
Someone who is known to always pay
exactly as promised can borrow money from other people at any time.
An employer who pays well is never
short of staff.
Fighting between countries for a
fair and good cause is better than no fighting in a situation that is unfair.
It may be safer not to learn
something at all than to half-learn it.
This somewhat sexist saying suggests
that men age better than women.
A very small hint is enough to
convey our meaning. It is not always necessary to say what we want explicitly.
The implication is that brevity is
effective in winning the ear of Heaven, and, by extension, anyone from whom we seek
help.
Someone who does not talk much, but
listens to other people, probably has experience, knowledge and good judgement.
Repair something as soon as it is
damaged. That's a small repair job. If not, you will have a much bigger and
more expensive repair job later. Do it now and you'll need one stitch. Do it
later and you'll need 9 stitches!
If you want to heat water until it
boils, and you watch it while you wait, then it seems to take a very long time.
In the same way, anything that we wait for with eager attention seems to take a
very long time: like waiting for someone to arrive, waiting for the phone to
ring, waiting for a letter to come.
A very brief warning or explanation
is enough for an intelligent person.
The implication is that beauty, or
physical appearance, is unimportant.
We can rephrase this: "Not
every cloud brings rain." And that's true. Sometimes there are many clouds
in the sky, but it doesn't rain. Don't judge things by appearances.
The attractive exterior of something
is not a good indicator of its real nature. It may look valuable, but not be
valuable.
The implication is that we should be
patient with learning, and with learners. It takes time to learn to do things.
What seems easy to us now may have been difficult at first.
Some truths are better left
unspoken. It is not always necessary to repeat something even though it be
true.
In times of danger, any shelter is
better than none. In an emergency, we have to accept whatever solution presents
itself (for the time being).
The way something or someone looks
from outside may give us the wrong impression.
The process of dying starts at
birth. This saying reminds us of our own mortality, whatever our age.
†
"Bad news" means news
about "bad" things like accidents, death, illness etc. People tend to
tell this type of news quickly. But "good news" (passing an exam,
winning some money, getting a job etc) travels more slowly.
Don't be afraid of dogs that bark or
people that threaten you (say they will do something bad to you) - in both
cases they rarely take action.
Different people see beauty in
different ways. What one person finds beautiful may not appeal to another
person.
Physical beauty is superficial. A
pleasing exterior is no guide to a person's interior or character.
Many men owe their achievements in
life to women.
We should be careful in a dangerous
situation. It is better to stay safe than to have an accident (and be sorry
about it). The full "grammatical" sentence would be: "It is
better to be safe than to be sorry."
It is better to take a bad step in
walking than to say the wrong thing in talking. We can do a lot of damage when
we say something by mistake. The elliptical nature of this saying may make it
difficult to understand. The full version might be something like: "It is
better that your foot should slip than that your tongue should slip."
This proverb drops the verb "to
be" (It is better to be untaught than ill taught). We understand: "It
is better not to be taught at all than to be taught badly." It's better
not to learn something than to learn it badly.
A large expanse of water that is
still and does not move is often deep and dangerous. We should be careful of
it. In the same way, we should be careful with a person who does not talk much.
The implication is that the anger of
people who are normally slow to anger is, when it eventually comes, terrible.
"Birds of a feather" means
"birds of the same type". The whole proverb means that people of the
same type or sort stay together. They don't mix with people of another type.
This somewhat humorous saying is
often used to excuse male behaviour (of both boys and adult men).
