proverb · Traditional
Cheap is dear in the long run.
The saying makes a cheap purchase costly over time. It distinguishes the initial price from the expense of keeping or replacing something.
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What does it mean?
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.
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532 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
Chimney smoke descends, our nice weather ends.
The rhyme takes descending chimney smoke as a sign that pleasant weather is ending. It connects the smoke’s movement with a coming change.
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Christmas comes but once a year.
An occasion that happens only occasionally can be a reason to enjoy it while it is here. The proverb presents Christmas as a special celebration, without requiring extravagance, a particular faith or participation from everyone.
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Clear moon, frost soon.
The rhyme connects a clear view of the moon with frost soon. It makes a visible night sky a sign of expected cold.
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Consider each day of your life to be the best.
Calling each day the best invites appreciative attention to the present. The saying gives daily life an optimistic valuation.
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Courts have no almanacks.
The saying denies courts an almanac. As a qualified analogy, it can suggest that expectations about ordinary timing do not settle what happens in a courtly or legal setting.
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Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry.
Coyote waiting and remaining hungry presents a persistent appetite or presence. The repeated always gives the figure an enduring, watchful force.
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Death is deaf and hears no denial.
Death is imagined as unable to hear objections, so a protest cannot make it negotiate. The saying expresses mortality’s finality rather than a judgment about how someone should feel about loss.
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Death keeps no calendar.
The timing of death cannot be treated as an appointment people can count on controlling. The calendar image expresses uncertainty about life’s duration, encouraging awareness of limits without making a prediction about any individual or demanding constant urgency.
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Delays are dangerous.
Postponing a needed action can allow a problem to grow or an opportunity to close. Consider the consequences of waiting rather than assuming that delay preserves every option.
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Diamonds are forever.
The saying gives diamonds an everlasting duration. It uses permanence as praise rather than supplying a measured lifespan.
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Distance tests a horse’s strength; time reveals a marls character.
Distance testing a horse is paired with time revealing character. The comparison asks for evidence over an extended course rather than an instant impression.
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Do everything at the right time and one day will seem like three.
The saying makes well-timed action stretch one day into the apparent value of three. It praises suitable timing and coordination.
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Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.
The saying asks adults not to limit children’s learning to what they themselves learned. Different generations may face different knowledge and circumstances.
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Do not overstay/ outstay your welcome.
The instruction warns against remaining as a guest beyond one’s welcome. It asks a stay to respect the host’s willingness and capacity.
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Do not praise the beginning until you see the end.
The saying postpones praise for a beginning until its ending is known. It warns against treating a promising start as proof of a successful whole.
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Don’t boast until you see your enemy dead.
The saying postpones boasting until an enemy is dead. As an explicit analogy, it warns against claiming victory before the threat has actually ended.
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Don’t climb the hill before you get to it.
Climbing a hill before reaching it pictures taking on a difficulty prematurely. The supplied reading warns against worrying as though a future problem were already present.
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Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
The saying postpones counting chickens until they hatch. As an analogy, it separates an expected gain from one already realised.
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Don’t cross a bridge till you come to it.
Crossing a bridge before reaching it pictures dealing prematurely with a future obstacle. The saying asks that uncertain problems not consume all present attention.
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Don't cross a bridge until you come to it.
The saying delays crossing a bridge until reaching it. As an analogy, do not settle a future problem before it becomes the relevant decision.
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Don't cross your bridges until you come to them.
The saying postpones crossing a bridge until it is reached. As a metaphor, it discourages treating a possible later difficulty as an immediate task.
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Don’t cry before you are hurt.
Crying before being hurt pictures distress in anticipation of a possible misfortune. The saying advises against assuming that a feared event has already happened.
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Don’t have too many irons in the fire.
The saying warns against having too many irons in a fire. As an analogy, it questions taking on more simultaneous undertakings than can be attended to.
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