30 English proverbs that come in handy in different situations

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Proverbs in English will help you better understand the people who invented them, and also make your speech livelier and richer.

1. The squeaky wheel gets the grease

• Translation: grease a wheel that squeaks.
• Meaning: You will not get help if you silently endure the inconvenience, you need to ask for services.
• Analogue in Russian: a rolling stone gathers no moss.

This is an American proverb. The authorship is attributed to humorist Josh Billings, but this is not confirmed by the facts. We can only talk about the time when the phrase appeared - the second half of the 19th century.

2. Actions speak louder than words

• Translation: actions speak louder than words.
• Meaning: what you do is more important than what you say.
• Analogue in Russian: judged not by words, but by deeds.

It is believed that this phrase appeared in the 17th century. As it stands, it was first used by Abraham Lincoln in 1856.

3. A picture is worth a thousand words

• Translation: a picture is worth a thousand words.
• Meaning: it is easier to believe in something if you see it with your own eyes, and not be content with other people's stories.
• Analogue in Russian: It is better to see once than hear a hundred times.

The saying began to be actively used in America in the 1920s. And the first mention, recorded in written sources, dates back to 1911, when this phrase was voiced by the editor of one of the newspapers in the Syracuse Advertising Men's Club.

4. A watched pot never boils

• Translation: if you constantly look at the kettle, it will never boil.
• Meaning: if a process takes time, you do not need to constantly check if it has completed, just wait.

The phrase was coined by Benjamin Franklin. He uses it in a report published in 1785 referring to Poor Richard. It is noteworthy that Franklin himself wrote under this pseudonym.

5. A bad workman blames his tools

• Translation: the bad worker blames his tool for the failure.
• Meaning: a person who is poorly able to do something looks for the reasons for his failures anywhere, but not in himself.
• Analogue in Russian: a bad dancer's legs get in the way.

Most likely, the saying came to English from French: the first mention of the phrase in sources from France occurs in the 13th century, in English - only in the 17th century.

6. A bird may be known by its song

• Translation: the bird can be recognized by the way it sings.
• Meaning: much about a person can be understood by what he says and does.
• Analogue in Russian: the bird is visible in flight.

Little is known about the origin of this proverb, we can only say that it has a longer version, which leaves no room for interpretation: "A bird is known by its song, a man by his words" she sings, a person - according to what he says”).

7. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it

• Translation: you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
• Meaning: not everything can be achieved by force, others will still do what they want.

This is one of the oldest English proverbs still in use today. The first mention dates back to 1175.

8. When in Rome, do as the Romans do

• Translation: if you're in Rome, act like a Roman.
• Meaning: getting into a new place or situation, take a closer look at how the majority behaves, and do the same.
• Analogue in Russian: they do not go to someone else's monastery with their own charter.

The expression first occurs in a letter to the Christian saint Aurelius Augustine in 390. He wrote something like this: “When I'm in Rome, I fast on Saturdays, but in Milan I don't. Always follow the customs of the church you attend if you don't want a scandal."

9. There is no time like the present

• Translation: there is no time better than the present.
• Meaning: don't wait for the right moment, do what you need to do right now.
• Analogues in Russian: do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today; do not wait for the weather by the sea.

This proverb was first recorded in 1562. Later, one of the compilers of the collection of sayings, John Trasler, expanded this expression to "No time like the present, a thousand unforeseen circumstances may interrupt you at a future time", which means "There is no time better than the present, a thousand unforeseen circumstances can prevent you in the future. ". But the laconic version took root.

10. There is no such thing as a free lunch

• Translation: there is no such thing as a free lunch.
• Meaning: you have to pay for everything, and if you have not given the money now, later you may have to say goodbye to something more valuable.
• Analogue in Russian: free cheese only comes in a mousetrap.

In the middle of the 19th century in Great Britain and the United States, advertisements were disguised as advertisements for free meals, which suggested other expenses. For example, in one of the saloons in Milwaukee, they promised to feed "free" those who would buy a cigar or drink. Of course, the costs of the meals served were included in the price of the alcohol or cigar. Due to such announcements, some establishments were prosecuted for unfair advertising.

11. The pen is mightier than the sword

• Translation: the feather is mightier than the sword.
• Meaning: correct words are more convincing than physical strength; words can hurt.
• Analogue in Russian: do not be afraid of the knife - the tongue.

This is an accurate quote from the 1839 play Richelieu or Conspiracy by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. However, in other formulations, this idea sounded earlier in George Wetstone and William Shakespeare.

12. Practice makes perfect

• Translation: practice leads to perfection.
• Meaning: the more you train, the better you get.
• Analogue in Russian: repetition is the mother of learning.

The first mention of the proverb dates back to the middle of the 16th century. It has been translated into English from Latin.

13. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones

• Translation: people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
• Meaning: you should not condemn and criticize if you yourself are not perfect.
• Analogue in Russian: he does not see a log in his own eye, he notices a speck in someone else's.

This expression is found in Geoffrey Chaucer's poem Troilus and Cressida, written at the end of the 14th century. The phrase stuck and is still used quite often.

14. God helps those who help themselves

• Translation: God helps those who help themselves.
• Meaning: in a difficult situation, you should not hope for a miracle, you need to act to change everything.
• Analogue in Russian: Trust in God, but don't do it yourself.

The proverb was used as far back as Ancient Greece. Sometimes the Bible is mistakenly called its source, although such a phrase does not occur literally in it. On the contrary, many Christians criticize this expression as contrary to dogma.

15. Don’t put too many irons in the fire

• Translation: do not put too much coal on the fire.
• Meaning: don't take too much on yourself, focus on one thing.

The expression came from blacksmiths. It is associated with the work of an apprentice, whose task was to move products with the help of blacksmith tongs from the fire to the anvil. And if there were too many tongs in the furnace, this made the work ineffective, since the blacksmith could not work on several items at the same time.

16. Birds of a feather flock together

• Translation: birds gather in a flock on plumage.
• Meaning: people with common interests easily converge.
• Analogue in Russian: birds of a feather flock together.

The proverb has been used since the middle of the 16th century. First mentioned in literature by William Turner in The Rescuing of Romish Fox.

17. Beggars can't be choosers

• Translation: beggars cannot choose.
• Meaning: in a difficult situation, you should not refuse any help.
• Analogue in Russian: they do not look at a given horse's teeth.

This phrase was first recorded by the poet and playwright John Haywood in the 16th century. It was addressed to the poor population and called for thanks for any help and support.

18. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

• Translation: a pinch of "before" is a pound of "after".
• Meaning: it is easier to prevent than to eliminate the consequences.
• Analogue in Russian: the road is a spoon for dinner.

In 1736, Benjamin Franklin, at a meeting with firefighters in Philadelphia, uttered this phrase, warning of the need to defend against natural disasters.

19. An apple a day keeps the doctor away

• Translation: an apple a day, and you won't need a doctor.
• Meaning: literal.

The expression spread widely after the Pembrokeshire proverb, "Eat an apple before bed, and you will have nothing to pay the doctor for," was published in the Welsh journal Notes and Queries in 1866.

20. A leopard cannot change its spots

• Translation: the leopard cannot change its spots.
• Meaning: people do not change.
• Analogue in Russian: leopard change his spots.

The expression is borrowed from the Bible. In the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah it is written: “Can an Ethiopian change his skin and a leopard his spots? So can you do good, having become accustomed to doing evil?"

21. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks

• Translation: you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
• Meaning: it is difficult to wean someone from old habits.
• Analogue in Russian: leopard change his spots.

One of the oldest proverbs in the English language, it was first mentioned in written sources in the 16th century.

22. Don’t keep a dog and bark yourself

• Translation: do not hold the dog and bark at the same time.
• Meaning: no need to pay someone for work that you still have to do yourself.

The expression first appears in Brian Milbank's Philotimus: the Warre Betwixt Nature and Fortune in 1583. It sounds from the lips of the philosopher and physician Philotimus, who lived in the 4th century in Greece.

23. Discretion is the better part of valor

• Translation: prudence is the best part of valor.
• Meaning: before doing something, it is worth carefully considering whether it is worth it.
• Analogue in Russian: Seven times measure cut once.

The phrase "The better part of valor is discretion" is pronounced by Sir John Falstaff in the first part of William Shakespeare's play "Henry IV".

24. Children should be seen and not heard

• Translation: children should be seen but not heard.
• Meaning: literal.

This parenting rule was adopted in England during the reign of Queen Victoria. However, the first mentions of it date back to 1450.

25. Charity begins at home

• Translation: charity starts at home.
• Meaning: before caring for others, you need to take care of yourself and your family.

Sometimes the source of the phrase is mistakenly referred to as the Bible. In fact, for the first time an expression in such a formulation is found in theologian John Wycliffe at the end of the 14th century. Although Paul's first letter to Timothy contains a very similar thought: "And if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to show their piety, first of all, towards their family and give due care to their parents and grandfathers."

26. Curiosity killed the cat

• Translation: curiosity killed the cat.
• Meaning: do not poke your nose into other matters.
• Analogue in Russian: curious Varvara's nose was torn off at the bazaar.

The original expression was: "Care killed the cat". Moreover, care did not mean care, but sadness or sorrow. In this version, the proverb existed until the end of the 19th century, and only after that it acquired its modern look. However, curiosity has never been encouraged, so this transformation seems logical.

27. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

• Translation: better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
• Meaning: instead of blaming the circumstances, something needs to be done to change them.

The phrase is attributed to John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and even the Chinese people, but it is first heard in the collection of sermons by William Watkinson, published in 1907.

28. A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse

• Translation: nodding to a blind horse is the same as winking at it.
• Meaning: a person who is not ready to perceive information cannot convey it in any way.
• Analogue in Russian: fool that in the forehead, that in the forehead.

The phrase appeared in England in the 16th century. Now, instead of a horse, there may be a bat in the proverb: “A nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat”. In this form, the expression was used in the British sketch series "The Flying Circus of Monty Python".

29. Great minds think alike

• Translation: great minds think alike.
• Meaning: people with the same mental abilities can think of the same thing at the same time.
• Analogue in Russian: fools' thoughts converge.

This formulation of the phrase was first recorded in 1816 in the English-language biography of Evdokia Lopukhina, the first wife of Peter I. However, this idea was encountered earlier.

30. A golden key can open any door

• Translation: the golden key can open any door.
• Meaning: money can buy anything.

This adage should be as old as money itself. But it was recorded for the first time in 1580 by the English playwright John Lilly.