What is a workman without his tools
The cleverest of craftsmen cannot make things with his bare hands. Similarly, if we are to undertake a task we must have the means of doing it.
What costs little is little esteemed
We tend to value things by the amount we pay for them, which is not always their true worth. The same article may cost twice as much in the... Read more →
What can’t be cured must be endured
If nothing can be done to improve the situation, we must put up with it. The proverb can be used as a retort to somebody who complains about the... Read more →
What can you expect from a hog but a grunt
This is a rhetorical question needing no reply. It means something on the lines of: 'Why are you surprised by his rude behaviour? It's all you... Read more →
Well begun is half done
If you start a thing badly it takes a long time to finish it, because the bad start seriously affects the later work. But if you make a good... Read more →
Wedlock is a padlock
This is a play on words. Wedlock is the married state, in which you are imprisoned as if by a padlock. There is no escape.
The weakest goes to the wall
To 'go to the wall' is to be thrust aside. In the battle for survival it is the weak who suffer most.
Two wrongs do not make a right
Your faults are not excused by the faults of somebody else. This means the same as Two black do not make a white.
Two of a trade can never agree
Two people on the same trade, in the same field, that have the same interests are both too envious, each imagining that the other is cleverer or... Read more →
Two is company, three is none
This is sometimes quoted as 'Two's company, three's a crowd.' Two friends often agree well on their own; but the presence of a third may lead to... Read more →