A clean hand wants no washing
This proverb conveys the idea that a person who has done no wrong has no need to confess or seek forgiveness. The proverb also implies that if... Read more →
This proverb conveys the idea that a person who has done no wrong has no need to confess or seek forgiveness. The proverb also implies that if... Read more →
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.
Usage associates heels with running. To take to one's heels is to make a hasty departure. This proverb, therefore, means that it is often better... Read more →
Don't be deceived by mere politeness, as people are often polite to those they intend to harm. Chaucer refers to 'the smiler with the knife... Read more →
The more people there are to carry out a task, the less each has to do, and the more quickly is the work finished. It has been said that this... Read more →
Keep secret any help you give to the poor; don't boast of your almsgiving. The source is Matthew, vi, 1-4
If a hunter has shot one bird, he should be satisfied with that and not go off looking for the ones that flew away. We use the proverb to mean... Read more →
Those who have nothing useful to do and seeks some way of passing the time are liable to drift into wrongdoing.
Mothers who look after their children are bringing up a new generation of men. The following lines were written by William Ross Wallace: They... Read more →