Don’t cry before you are hurt
You should not give way to misfortune till it actually happens, since it may not happen. This motherly advice is often given to quarrelling... Read more →
Don’t cross the bridge till you come to it
Don't worry about something before it has happened. Your fears may be groundless, for it may never happen.
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched
It is a mistake to assume that because your hen is sitting on a dozen of eggs you will have twelve chickens, since some, perhaps even all of... Read more →
Don’t change horses in mid-stream
Crossing a stream on horseback is not always easy, and to transfer oneself form one horse to another during the process is inviting a ducking,... Read more →
Do not cast your pearls before swine
Do not give a beautiful or precious thing to a person who is totally unable to appreciate its value. The proverb is very often used by those who... Read more →
Do as you would be done by
Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you don't, you may be punished, as Tom was in The Water Babies, by that fearsome lady, Mrs... Read more →
Do as most men do, than most men will speak well of you
Go with the crow. If you try to act differently from the majority you will become unpopular. Robert Nagent wrote: Safer with multitudes to... Read more →
Do as I say, not as I do
This is a tilt against those preachers who condemn in the pulpit the very things of which they themselves are guilty. It is also used humorously... Read more →
Distance lends enchantment to the view
This is a quotation form The Pleasures of Hope by the Scottish poet, Thomas Campbell: 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, And robes... Read more →
Discretion is the better part of valour
Although a brave man is better than a coward, caution is often better than rashness. Tom might say to Harry: 'I dare you walk along the edge of... Read more →