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Favourite Proverbs.

(141 Posts)
Calendargirl Tue 25-Aug-20 12:22:26

What is your favourite proverb?

So many to choose from, but one of mine is;

‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’.

boheminan Tue 25-Aug-20 12:30:54

'Let he (or she!) who is without sin cast the first stone'

Curlywhirly Tue 25-Aug-20 12:41:26

Well, mine's more of a poem!

The mills of God grind slowly
Yet they grind exceedingly small
With patience he stands waiting
But with exactness grinds he all.

I think it was in a Catherine Cookson book, possibly her autobiography, Our Kate.

BlueSky Tue 25-Aug-20 12:43:14

"Don't cross the bridge until you come to it".

grandtanteJE65 Tue 25-Aug-20 12:46:49

Better the Devil you know than the devil you don't.

No good ever came of interfering between man and wife.

25Avalon Tue 25-Aug-20 12:52:25

Curlywhirly it was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and before that an obscure 3rd century Greek Philosopher Sextus Empiricus.

I like “fine words butter no parsnips”which you don’t hear much these days.

boat Tue 25-Aug-20 13:01:19

Fifty odd years ago there was a competition in, I think, the New Statesman asking people to invent new proverbs.

My ex-H came up with, "An owl in a sack troubleth no man". He didn't win but I don't think you could beat that for Gnomishness.

Curlywhirly Tue 25-Aug-20 13:06:13

Oh 25Avalon thanks for that. I am sure though that I did read it in a Cookson book, she was obviously quoting and they were not her words.

DanniRae Tue 25-Aug-20 13:17:50

I like "What goes around comes around"

and "If it's meant for you it won't pass you by"

Goodbyetoallthat Tue 25-Aug-20 13:23:43

Comparison is the thief of joy.

annodomini Tue 25-Aug-20 14:01:12

Goodbyetoallthat, yours is new to me but it's wonderfully apposite. Similarly, a favourite of mine is 'Procrastination is the thief of time'.

Lucca Tue 25-Aug-20 14:03:36

I suspect regular patrons of the argy bargy bar might like “many a slip twixt cup and lip”.....

Callistemon Tue 25-Aug-20 14:14:33

Every cloud has a silver lining.

I was brought up on proverbs, at the time I thought they were all just my mother's wise sayings ?

All good things must come to an end (come in from playing outside)
Cleanliness is next to Godliness (go and wash your hands before dinner)
Many hands make light work (you and your brother wash up, please)

Etc etc

Oldbat1 Tue 25-Aug-20 14:15:02

Manners Maketh Man and A Word to the Wise is Enough were favourites of my English teacher. She would give out lines using them.

Juno56 Tue 25-Aug-20 14:18:39

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on".
F D Roosevelt (I think?)

Esspee Tue 25-Aug-20 14:20:31

“*Better to wear out than to rust out*” is appropriate for this forum. ?

Glorybee Tue 25-Aug-20 14:26:27

Favourite- A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11.25

Funniest (but true!) - Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. Proverbs 26.17

Jaxjacky Tue 25-Aug-20 14:57:12

‘Least said, soonest mended’....I have to remind myself of this occasionally!!!

Rufus2 Tue 25-Aug-20 15:23:11

Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust
If the Lord don't getcha
Then the Devil must.

welbeck Tue 25-Aug-20 15:31:12

Fool me once, shame on you;
fool me twice, shame on me.

Trisha57 Tue 25-Aug-20 15:32:59

"When you're going through hell, keep going"

lovebeigecardigans1955 Tue 25-Aug-20 16:55:29

"It at first you don't succeed, try, try again, then quit. No use being a damn fool about it." W C Fields

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

AGAA4 Tue 25-Aug-20 16:59:12

'Don't pull tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine'

welbeck Tue 25-Aug-20 17:02:21

No good deed goes unpunished

BlueSky Tue 25-Aug-20 17:16:00

"Live and let live!"