Words worth understanding
Start with the thought in plain English. Then explore the imagery, a practical example, when to use it, and what the saying does not mean.
4,000 entries with editorial explanations. The wider collection also contains entries still awaiting an individual interpretation.
proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Courtesy in making a request does not oblige someone to accept it. A refusal can be equally courteous, preserving respect without pretending that every reasonable-sounding request can be granted.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Protection depends partly on continuing to notice changing conditions. A precaution taken once may become ineffective if its assumptions or surroundings later change.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Expecting a complete reward without effort or arrangement is wishful thinking. The ready-roasted birds exaggerate the hope that every necessary step will happen by itself.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Helping another person carry out an action can make you part of its consequences. The supporting role in the image matters even though it does not perform the whole act.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Using a resource before it has matured can consume the benefit expected later. The young crop represents an anticipated return spent or destroyed too soon.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The person managing the practical work often has more to handle than an observer realises. Consider the responsibilities of the role before adding demands or judging a delayed response.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Using your body in place of a suitable tool can impose a needless cost. Choose an appropriate method instead of proving determination through avoidable strain.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
An available market is of little use to someone with nothing ready to offer. The contrast links an opening with the preparation needed to take part in it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Intervening in someone else’s work or claiming its results can overstep a boundary. The borrowed harvest represents effort whose ownership or responsibility belongs elsewhere.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Lavish promises can create the appearance of generosity without delivering any benefit. Judge an undertaking by its realistic terms and fulfilment rather than the scale of its words.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Holding the bag is placed beside putting things into it, extending responsibility to a person who knowingly enables wrongdoing.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A spoken commitment can create an obligation that is difficult to undo. Consider what you are agreeing to before making a promise that later effort or regret may not easily release.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Retain a practical way to guide or stop something entrusted to you. The bridle represents oversight that should not be abandoned merely because things seem calm.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
People doing a community’s work need a means of support. The altar represents the activity through which the priest serves and receives a livelihood.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A celebration planned for later should not displace the work or preparation needed now. Anticipation is different from treating an expected occasion as already secured.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Shared work benefits when people attend to their own responsibilities. Clear roles can prevent essential tasks being neglected while everyone interferes with someone else’s job.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A small demand can become substantial when it continues for a long time. Assess the duration and repetition of a burden, not only how light one instance appears.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Affection and practical arrangements both shape a shared life. The saying draws attention to material circumstances without proving that money determines every marriage or relationship.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Physical horseplay can impose discomfort or injury on another person. Humour should leave people free to participate rather than making their body the object of a joke.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
The hopeful beginning of a marriage does not guarantee that the relationship will go well. The source’s cynical contrast invites attention to continuing conduct, rather than a prediction that marriage must fail.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Money imagined as a rolling round object suggests movement rather than indefinite stillness. The saying asks what use a resource is meant to serve.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Provoking someone to behave badly can help produce the very trouble you expect. Avoid turning a risky impulse into a challenge to prove it.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A protective measure has limits when confronted by a stronger or different threat. Consider what a safeguard can actually resist rather than treating its presence as complete security.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
An impossible demand cannot become achievable merely because someone insists on it. Responsibilities should be considered alongside actual capacity, conditions and the means available to fulfil them.
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