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
A polite question deserving a polite answer values reciprocal consideration in conversation. The saying asks that a courteous approach receive a respectful response.
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Limited means may leave a meal simple to prepare because little is available. The saying recognises scarcity without making it a virtue or an occasion for ridicule.
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The saying makes a real friend enter when everyone else leaves. It praises support at a moment of isolation.
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A refusal preferred to a broken promise values an honest limit over an assurance that is not fulfilled. It asks for care before taking on a commitment.
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Experience with other people can soften rough habits or improve how someone deals with others. The stone passing from hand to hand suggests gradual change, without making conformity or mistreatment a necessary route to maturity.
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A silent mouth described as sweet to hear gives quiet a pleasing place in conversation. The saying values restraint through a paradoxical sound image.
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The saying lets a small house hold a hundred friends. It celebrates welcome and connection despite modest surroundings.
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A son’s bond ending with marriage but a daughter’s lasting for life contrasts family roles by gender. The saying presents loyalty as unequal and fixed.
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Sharing sorrow can make it feel less solitary, while sharing joy can add another person’s pleasure to it. The balanced contrast values companionship without promising a fixed reduction in grief or increase in happiness.
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An open enemy preferred to a false friend contrasts visible opposition with concealed betrayal. The saying values clarity about a relationship.
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A companion drawn mainly by hospitality may not remain dependable when the benefits end. Sharing a table alone does not establish lasting friendship.
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A thousand friends called too few and one enemy too many favour companionship over antagonism. The saying exaggerates the value of welcome relationships and the cost of hostility.
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The saying halves a trouble when it is shared. It gives talking or receiving support a concrete image of reducing a burden.
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Gentleness toward children, older people and animals is presented as an authentic cowboy quality. The saying gives care a place in its ideal of strength.
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A difficult period can reveal how a friendship responds to strain. Practical care and reliability may become clearer when support requires effort rather than easy company.
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Advice after injury compared with medicine after death makes delayed help appear unable to prevent an already completed harm. The saying values timely support.
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The saying makes advice least likely to be followed when it is most needed. It pictures a gap between the need for guidance and the response to it.
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Advice rejected and adversity left to teach contrast offered guidance with learning through consequences. The saying questions how far counsel can direct another person’s choices.
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Pleasant words do not by themselves establish friendship. Look for dependable and considerate conduct rather than assuming that flattery or an agreeable manner proves someone cares for you.
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The saying gives good things an ending. It reminds a reader that an enjoyable period may be temporary.
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The saying makes love the essential need. It gives affection and care priority through an absolute claim that leaves other needs unmentioned.
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The instruction permits only one donkey to bray at a time. As a human analogy, it asks speakers to take turns rather than add overlapping noise.
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Someone who arrives without an invitation should not assume that everything has been prepared for them. Bringing a stool pictures taking responsibility for the practical consequences of joining unexpectedly, rather than demanding extra hospitality.
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An untested friend compared with an unopened nut gives uncertainty a tangible form. The saying distinguishes a friendship’s appearance from what experience has revealed.
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