proverb · Traditional
A snow year, a rich year.
The saying associates a snowy year with prosperity. Its brief promise makes one broad weather description a sign of abundance.
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499 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay, But a swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly.
The saying values an earlier swarm of bees far more than a later one. The load of hay and worthless fly exaggerate the contrast between timing and expected benefit.
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A thing you don't want is dear at any price.
Something unwanted can impose a cost even when its price is low. The saying asks whether an acquisition serves a real purpose, instead of letting a bargain alone determine what is worth having.
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A thousand pounds and a pottle of hay is all one thing at doomsday.
Earthly possessions lose their comparative importance in the imagined final judgment. Money and a small amount of hay are placed on the same level.
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A tradesman who gets not loseth.
The saying treats a tradesperson’s lack of gain as a loss. It judges merely standing still as insufficient within the commercial activity it imagines.
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A wet August never brings dearth.
The saying claims that a wet August prevents scarcity. Its absolute promise makes an expected relationship between rain and provision stronger than the wording can prove.
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A young man idle, an old man needy.
Neglecting available opportunities to prepare for the future can leave someone with fewer resources later. Youth and old age frame the consequences over time.
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Accept an undeserved gift and you have sold your freedom.
An undeserved gift costing freedom pictures a benefit creating pressure or dependence. The saying questions an apparently generous offer with possible hidden expectations.
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Account not that work slavery That brings in penny savoury.
The saying argues that paid work should not be called slavery. A critical reading distinguishes compensation from the freedom and fair conditions that a worker also needs.
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Adversity makes a man wise, not rich.
Difficulty may teach practical lessons without bringing material success. Gaining understanding from a setback is different from becoming better off because of it.
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After a famine in the stall, Comes a famine in the hall.
The saying makes scarcity in an animal stall precede scarcity in the household hall. It pictures difficulty moving from provision for livestock to provision for people.
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After a trial, one party is naked and the other without shirt. –Serb
After a trial one party naked and another without a shirt gives both sides a costly outcome. The supplied sentence includes a Serb label.
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All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
The saying links hard work with profit and mere talk with poverty. It favours carrying out an undertaking over speaking about it alone.
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All that glitters is not gold.
An attractive appearance or impressive presentation does not guarantee real value. Look beyond the shine before deciding that a person, offer or object deserves your trust.
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An empty purse fills the face with wrinkles.
Financial worry can show in a person’s expression. The empty purse pictures a shortage of resources, and wrinkles give the strain a visible form.
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An excessively modest man goes hungry at times.
Excessive modesty linked with sometimes going hungry questions restraint that prevents a need being expressed. The saying gives self-effacement a possible practical cost.
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An honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.
The saying pairs honest pay with honest work. It presents fair compensation and a genuine contribution as matching responsibilities.
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Anyone who goes hungry for three days will steal.
Three days of hunger making anyone steal links deprivation with wrongdoing. The saying presents urgent need as a force acting on conduct.
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Art and knowledge brings bread and honor.
Art and knowledge bringing bread and honour link skill and understanding with livelihood and recognition. The saying values learning through hoped-for practical outcomes.
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As he who has health is young, so he who owes nothing is rich.
The saying compares vitality with youth and freedom from obligations with wealth. It shifts attention from labels and possessions to conditions that can make life feel less burdened, without promising that health or debt determines anyone’s worth.
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As poor as Job.
The phrase uses Job as an image of extreme poverty or loss of possessions. Its comparison draws on the biblical account of a prosperous man suffering severe losses.
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As the fish sees the bait not the hook, a man sees no danger, only the profit.
A fish noticing bait instead of a hook compares attraction to profit with overlooking danger. The saying asks what an appealing benefit may conceal.
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Ask thy purse what thou shouldst buy.
Let your available resources help set your spending. A desirable purchase still needs to fit what you can reasonably afford alongside your other commitments.
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At a great bargain make a great pause.
Pause before accepting an offer that promises an unusually large advantage. The bargain and the pause should match in scale: the more attractive the proposal, the more useful it may be to examine its terms.
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