Proverbs starting with letter B

Busiest men find the most time

People who do a lot are the people who have most energy. However busy they are, they can usually manage to do something more.

A burnt child dreads the fire

Once he has burnt himself he is very careful to see that it doesn’t happen again. Any such painful experience is not soon forgotten. When... Read more →

Burn not your house to fright the mouse away

Don’t take extreme measures to get rid of something quite trivial.

A bully is always a coward

A bully finds his victims among those who are weaker and smaller than he is, because he hasn’t the courage to attack anyone his own size.

The bull must be taken by the horns

In moments of danger during a bullfight, a strong, expert matador will grabs the bull by the horns and so prevent it from tossing him. By... Read more →

Brevity is the soul of wit

This was already a proverb in Shakespeare s time. In his Hamlet we find the first record of it in literature. Old Polonius is giving King... Read more →

Bread is the staff of life

Here 'bread' refers to food in general, as in the Lord's Prayer ('Give us this day our daily bread') and 'staff' is something that serves as a... Read more →

Boys will be boys

'Boys are boys', said the Latin proverb, 'and employ themselves with boyish matters.' These matters are normally noisy, destructive,and... Read more →

Books and friends should be few but good

People who have too many books often find they haven’t any time to read them. In the same way people with too many friends cannot find enough... Read more →

Blood is thicker than water

Unlike blood, water soon evaporates when it is spilt, and leaves no trace afterwards. Figuratively 'blood' means 'relationship'. When we say... Read more →