proverb · Traditional
Accidents will happen.
The saying expects accidents to occur. It acknowledges unintended events rather than treating every result as fully controlled.
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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.
4,000 entries with editorial explanations. The wider collection also contains entries still awaiting an individual interpretation.
1,479 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
Adopt a calm and relaxed attitude.
The instruction asks for a calm, relaxed attitude. It encourages a composed approach to a situation without describing a particular way to achieve it.
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Adversity and loss make a man wise.
The saying presents adversity and loss as teachers of wisdom. It suggests that difficult experience can change judgment.
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Adversity brings knowledge, and knowledge wisdom.
Adversity leading through knowledge to wisdom gives difficult experience an image of learning. The saying values reflection on what happens.
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Adversity flattereth no man.
Difficulty can expose weaknesses that praise or favourable circumstances leave unnoticed. Adversity is pictured as an unflattering observer, inviting an honest assessment without making hardship necessary for growth or a complete test of someone’s character.
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Advice comes too late when a thing is done.
Advice offered after an irreversible action cannot prevent what has already happened. Give relevant guidance while someone can still use it, and distinguish prevention from help with what comes next.
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Advice when most needed is least heeded.
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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After all is said and done, more is said than done.
More said than done after everything is said and done plays on the gap between discussion and action. The saying criticises words exceeding practical fulfilment.
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After clouds comes clear weather.
A difficult period can give way to a better one. Clouds and clear weather provide an image of change, offering perspective without promising when improvement will come or suggesting that practical help is unnecessary.
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After the cow is stolen, they lock the barn.
Locking a barn after a cow is stolen gives a precaution an image of arriving after a loss. The saying questions delayed prevention.
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All are not hunters that blow the horn.
Displaying the signs of a role does not prove someone can carry it out. Blowing the horn and being a hunter distinguish appearance from demonstrated ability, without making every visible symbol misleading.
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All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet.
The saying makes cats want fish while resisting wet paws. As an analogy, wanting a result can conflict with accepting what pursuing it involves.
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All feet tread not in one shoe.
One arrangement will not fit everyone. Differences between people may require different provisions, just as feet of different sizes cannot all use the same shoe comfortably.
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All flatterers live at the expense of their flatterers.
Flatterers living at the expense of their flatterers presents praise within a costly relationship. The repeated wording makes the precise direction of dependence unclear.
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All growth depends upon activity.
The saying makes growth depend on activity. It emphasises participation or effort in development.
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All roads lead to Rome.
The saying makes different roads converge on Rome. As an analogy, different approaches may reach the same goal.
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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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All the keys hang not at one man's girdle.
No single person holds every means of solving a problem or gaining access. The keys suggest that knowledge, authority and opportunity may be distributed, so another person or route may help when one option fails.
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All the wit in the world is not in one head.
No individual possesses every useful insight. The saying encourages listening to other people’s understanding, especially when confidence or status makes one person assume that further contributions have nothing to offer.
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All things are soon prepared in a well-ordered house.
An organised setting can make ordinary preparation easier and quicker. The saying credits arrangements made beforehand, without guaranteeing speed, treating every delay as disorganisation or assigning household work to one particular person.
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All things come to those that wait.
The saying promises all things to those who wait. It praises patience through an exaggerated claim of eventual fulfilment.
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All trees are made out of wood, but pine is not mahogany.
Pine and mahogany distinguished despite both being wood illustrate differences within a shared category. The saying warns against treating common membership as sameness.
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All truth is not to be told at all times.
Truthfulness does not require saying every true thing at every moment. The proverb concerns timing, relevance and consideration, while leaving a clear distinction between discretion and concealment that harms other people.
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Although Agathi is a thousand dry, it is on the outside.
The supplied wording is unclear. Its accompanying gloss rejects the value of many fruits, suggesting that abundance alone does not establish usefulness.
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