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 (French-language collection)
A good driver turning within a small space pictures skill responding to tight conditions. Competence can show in adjusting a method to the room available.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
A person may need to begin with the resources actually available, rather than wait for an ideal set. The farming image encourages practical adaptation without saying that unsuitable or unsafe resources must be accepted.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
A peg for each hole pictures fitting responses to different needs. Look for an appropriate match rather than assuming one method serves every task.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Something adopted from someone else may not suit your own circumstances. Adapt a borrowed method or style to the actual purpose instead of assuming it will work simply because it worked elsewhere.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
When a condition cannot be changed to suit you, consider changing your own approach instead. The mountain image encourages practical adaptation, without requiring submission to unfairness or making every obstacle something you must accommodate.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
Experience can help you prepare, but it cannot reveal every difficulty in advance. Leave room to adapt when a situation includes hazards that earlier lessons did not allow you to foresee.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional
When the intended use of something is unavailable, consider whether another suitable use is possible. The saying encourages adaptation to a constraint rather than insisting that the original plan is the only worthwhile outcome.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (French-language collection)
Reaching an objective may require choosing and using an available route. Naming alternatives is useful only when one of them leads to practical action.
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A temporary retreat can improve the next attempt. Stepping back may create room to prepare or reconsider rather than amounting to abandonment.
Read the explanation and example ↗proverb · Traditional (Spanish-language collection)
A method that lacks its essential working part cannot accomplish the task expected of it. The dead ferret makes the mismatch between the proposed hunt and its means unmistakable.
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