The collection / 14,814 fragments
Explore passages mentioning work, labour. Topic suggestions use transparent word matching, not scholarly classification. Reviewed editorial meanings may also connect entries to this topic; those assignments are labelled separately from word matching.
Meaning: A desired benefit may require doing the necessary work to reach it. Cracking the nut before eating its kernel links a result to its practical prerequisite, without promising that any amount of effort guarantees success.
Meaning: Clever manipulation may fail to deliver a lasting benefit. Craft here suggests scheming, rather than the skill of making something well.
Meaning: Crazy describes an unsound ship in the image, so even ordinary winds become difficulties. Figuratively, a weak arrangement may struggle under many conditions; the saying asks about the underlying structure rather than treating every challenge as an independent stroke of bad luck.
Meaning: The person or part making the most noise may be contributing least or functioning poorly. The creaking wheel invites a distinction between attracting attention and doing useful work, without treating every complaint as worthless.
Meaning: An imperfect-looking input can still serve a useful purpose. The crooked-log image challenges judging suitability by neatness alone, without making every flawed material adequate or excusing harmful conduct because it produces a desired result.
Meaning: A valued reward may require accepting difficulty or sacrifice. The cross stands for hardship and the crown for the hoped-for reward.
Meaning: Much noise or visible effort may produce little useful result. The contrast between a great cry and little wool asks what has actually been achieved, rather than treating a dramatic presentation as evidence of substance.
Meaning: Familiarity and repetition can make an activity easier to manage. The word anything exaggerates that benefit, without proving that practice removes every difficulty or that lack of ease shows insufficient effort.
Meaning: An extreme difficulty may call for a substantial response. The cutting-and-curing image stresses the scale of a problem, but it does not establish that a drastic action is justified or likely to succeed.
Meaning: An activity may depend on continuing support. The pipe-and-dance image asks what sustains the action, without assuming every activity must stop when one form of support ends or that people exist only to respond to another’s wishes.
Meaning: A person may perform well when circumstances favour them. The fortune-and-dance image asks how opportunity contributes to success, without denying skill or claiming that fortunate conditions make every result effortless.
Meaning: The richest result may require going beyond an easy surface approach. Deep water becomes an image of work or understanding that takes more effort to reach, without guaranteeing a better outcome.
Meaning: Actions provide the useful result that words may only promise. Look for what has actually been done rather than judging commitment solely by an impressive statement of intention.
Meaning: 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.
Meaning: Doing something deserving does not guarantee a corresponding reward. The saying questions whether recognition follows merit, without making good work pointless or proving that every recognised person is undeserving.
Meaning: The saying encourages developing the qualities needed for an aspiration rather than relying on wanting it. It should not imply that basic care, dignity or fair opportunities must be earned through achievement.
Meaning: Steady effort can provide a lasting resource, much as an inheritance supplies something to build on. The proverb praises diligence as useful capital, without claiming that hard work removes unequal opportunities or guarantees material success.
Meaning: When the preferred course is unavailable, choose a workable response within the circumstances. The saying encourages adjustment, while leaving room to question a restriction or improve the conditions rather than treating every limit as permanent.
Meaning: Useful and dependable work deserves fitting recognition. Notice the contribution and respond fairly instead of taking continued service for granted.
Meaning: If a task matters to you, direct involvement can help ensure that its requirements are understood. The proverb exaggerates the weakness of sending someone else; capable delegation can work when responsibility, information and authority are clear.
Meaning: Secure one necessary step before adding another that depends on it. Check the foundation of the next action rather than expanding work on an arrangement that is still unsettled.
Meaning: Several small contributions can produce a substantial combined result. The drops-and-shower comparison invites attention to accumulation, without assuming every repeated action is useful or that individual circumstances do not matter.
Meaning: Beginning a task earlier can allow its result to arrive earlier. The sowing-and-mowing image connects preparation with timing, but an early start is useful only when conditions suit the task; speed alone does not guarantee readiness or quality.
Meaning: Starting early can help you obtain an opportunity before others reach it. Timely preparation or action may matter as much as waiting for ideal conditions.