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
An influential supporter can sometimes secure help that money alone cannot obtain. The saying values access through a relationship, while leaving open whether that access is legitimate assistance or unfair favouritism.
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The saying prefers a nearby friend to a distant relative. It values available support over a relationship that may be harder to reach.
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Someone familiar with a decision-making process may help another person navigate it more quickly. The saying can describe useful guidance, but it also invites questions about favouritism and unequal access.
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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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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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Friendship as a paved road and enmity as a wall contrast connection with obstruction. The saying gives relationships a role in what becomes possible.
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The saying denies deep friendship to someone friendly with everyone. It questions whether broad sociability allows particular commitment.
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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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The saying makes a friend’s eye a mirror. It values the perspective a trusted friend can offer about oneself.
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The saying prefers a friend’s frown to an opponent’s smile. It values candid concern over an attractive appearance of goodwill.
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Having a great deal can create a greater burden of care. The full cup suggests that abundance or responsibility is harder to carry safely when there is little room for error.
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Material resources can give someone more confidence or influence in a conversation. The full-purse image notices that advantage, but it should not make wealth a measure of truth, wisdom or entitlement to speak over people with fewer resources.
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Resources can give someone confidence or influence in speaking. The full purse is pictured as enabling a voice that might otherwise hesitate or be ignored.
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Wealth can attract attention that looks like friendship. Notice whether people value your company and wellbeing, or mainly the benefits they receive from being near you.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A sore place can make ordinary handling unwelcome. Consider previous difficulty or present discomfort before assuming that another person’s resistance is unreasonable.
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A gardener’s dog neither using cabbage nor allowing anyone else to use it contrasts possession with obstruction. The saying questions preventing a benefit one does not need.
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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 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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Expensive decoration can disguise an unchanged limitation. The image asks whether an improvement affects what something can do, or merely makes it look more impressive to an observer.
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A goal without a deadline called only a wish contrasts a planned undertaking with an indefinite aspiration. The saying values a concrete arrangement for action.
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A sound start can improve the chances of a successful finish. Clear aims, suitable preparation and an appropriate first step can prevent difficulties that would otherwise follow the work.
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Having a worthwhile cause does not automatically provide the effort, organisation or support needed to advance it. Recognise the cause’s merits while also asking what practical help is missing.
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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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Useful and dependable work deserves fitting recognition. Notice the contribution and respond fairly instead of taking continued service for granted.
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