proverb · Traditional
A fool despises his father's instruction.
The saying judges contempt for a father’s instruction as foolish. It values receiving guidance through a family relationship.
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769 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
A fool flaunts his folly.
The saying makes a fool display their folly openly. It criticises pride or conspicuousness in conduct the speaker considers unwise.
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A fool is fulsome.
The saying describes a fool as fulsome. In a qualified older negative sense, the word can express behaviour that is excessive, objectionable or unpleasant.
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A fool is reckless and careless.
The saying characterises a fool as reckless and careless. It makes disregard for consequences central to the label.
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A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A friend’s support during a difficult time can reveal the strength of the friendship. Reliability when help is inconvenient often matters more than agreeable company when everything is easy.
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A friend is not so soon gotten as lost.
Building a friendship can take longer than damaging it. Treat trust with care, because a careless act may undo a relationship that took repeated effort to establish.
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A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody.
Trying to please everyone can make personal loyalty seem shallow or unreliable. The saying questions indiscriminate promises of friendship, without establishing that a welcoming person cannot maintain sincere relationships with many others.
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A generous confession disarms slander.
An open acknowledgement can reduce the force of an accusation by making the relevant facts clear. It does not guarantee that criticism ends or require accepting an accusation that is untrue.
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A gift with a kind countenance is a double gift.
A gift offered with warmth can provide both practical help and a sense of being cared for. The manner of giving matters alongside the thing that is given.
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A good conscience is a soft pillow.
The saying compares a good conscience with a soft pillow. It imagines peace about one’s conduct as a source of inward comfort.
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A good example is the best sermon.
The saying calls a good example the best sermon. It favours demonstrating a value through conduct over explaining it only in speech.
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A good horse should be seldom spurred.
Reliable effort should not require constant pressure. The horse represents someone or something already responding well, and the spur represents repeated urging that may add strain without improving the result.
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A good name is better than fine perfume.
A good name preferred to fine perfume contrasts reputation with an appealing surface impression. The saying gives how conduct is remembered more value than a pleasing presentation.
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A good name is sooner lost than won.
A reputation may take sustained conduct to establish and can be damaged quickly. The saying draws attention to the uneven pace of earning trust and losing it, without treating every accusation as proof.
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A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.
A well-grounded reputation can retain value when it is not being publicly displayed. The lustre-in-darkness image praises lasting character, without treating reputation as infallible evidence or guaranteeing that good conduct will always be recognised.
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A good payer is a master of another’s purse.
The saying makes a good payer master of another person’s purse. It imagines reliable repayment bringing access to someone else’s resources.
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A good presence is a letter of recommendation.
A favourable manner or appearance can create an initial advantage before someone’s abilities are known. The comparison asks how presentation influences introductions, while leaving competence and character to be assessed through further evidence.
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A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand.
The saying gives a good surgeon an eagle’s eye, a lion’s heart and a lady’s hand. Its three images praise observation, courage and a gentle or careful touch.
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A good word is as soon said as an ill one.
Choosing a considerate word can take no longer than choosing a hurtful one. Where either would express your point, consider the effect of the manner you use.
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A guilty conscience needs no accuser.
Someone who knows they acted wrongly may judge themselves before another person speaks. The saying describes inward accountability, but feelings of guilt alone do not prove wrongdoing or settle responsibility.
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A hog in armour is still but a hog.
An impressive covering does not by itself change what is underneath. The armour and hog contrast outward equipment with underlying qualities, but the animal comparison should not be used to dehumanise or ridicule a person.
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A house has the character of the man who lives there.
A house given its inhabitant’s character treats a dwelling as an expression of the person living there. The saying connects environment with habits or choices.
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A hundred-year-old revenge still has its baby teeth.
A century-old revenge still having baby teeth pictures a retaliatory grievance retaining youthful force despite its age. The contrast emphasises persistence.
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A kind word never broke anyone’s mouth.
A kind word never breaking a mouth gives considerate speech an image of little cost to the speaker. The saying encourages a generous manner.
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