Reference & Education
“Every dog has its day” is the hopeful proverb that promises a turn of fortune to everyone — even the overlooked and the underdog. Here is what it
“You reap what you sow” is the proverb of consequences — the quiet promise that our actions come back to us in kind. Here is what it means,
“Rome wasn’t built in a day” is the proverb of patience and perseverance — a reminder that great things take time. Here is what it means, its medieval
“Two wrongs don’t make a right” is the proverb that talks us down from revenge. It reminds us that answering a bad deed with another bad deed only
“When the cat’s away, the mice will play” is the knowing little proverb about what people get up to once the person in charge is gone. Here is
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is the proverb we reach for when a child turns out remarkably like a parent. Here is what it means,
“You can’t have your cake and eat it too” is the proverb we use when someone wants two good things that simply can’t go together. Here is what
“Birds of a feather flock together” is the proverb we use to explain why like attracts like — why people of similar character, tastes or backgrounds tend to
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is the proverb that settles every argument about taste — what one person finds lovely, another may not, and both
“Blood is thicker than water” is the proverb that puts family first — the idea that the ties of kin outweigh all others. It also comes wrapped in