Test:English Proverbs and Sayings

English test Proverbs and Sayings

21. A cock is valiant on his own dunghill.
22. A cracked bell can never sound well.
23. A creaking door hangs long on its hinges.
24. A curst cow has short horns.
25. A danger foreseen is half avoided.
26. A drop in the bucket.
27. A drowning man will catch at a straw.
28. A fair face may hide a foul heart.
29. A fault confessed is half redressed.
30. A fly in the ointment.
31. A fool always rushes to the fore.
32. A fool and his money are soon parted.
33. A fool at forty is a fool indeed.
34. A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years.
35. A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out.
36. A fool's tongue runs before his wit.
37. A forced kindness deserves no thanks.
38. A foul morn may turn to a fair day.
39. A fox is not taken twice in the same snare.
40. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

75. A little body often harbours a great soul.
76. A little fire is quickly trodden out.
77. A man can die but once.
78. A man can do no more than he can.
79. A man is known by the company he keeps.
80. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.
81. A miserly father makes a prodigal son.
82. A miss is as good as a mile.
83. A new broom sweeps clean.
84. A nod from a lord is a breakfast for a fool.
85. A penny saved is a penny gained.
86. A penny soul never came to twopence.
87. A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.
88. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
89. A round peg in a square hole.

90. A shy cat makes a proud mouse.
91. A silent fool is counted wise.
92. A small leak will sink a great ship.
93. A soft answer turns away wrath.
94. A sound mind in a sound body.
95. A stitch in time saves nine.
96. A storm in a teacup.
97. A tattler is worse than a thief.
98. A thief knows a thief as a wolf knows a wolf.
99. A thief passes for a gentleman when stealing has made him rich.
100. A threatened blow is seldom given.
101. A tree is known by its fruit.
102. A wager is a fool's argument.
103. A watched pot never boils.
104. A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
105. A wolf in sheep's clothing.
106. A wonder lasts but nine days.
107. A word is enough to the wise.
108. A word spoken is past recalling.
109. Actions speak louder than words.
110. Adversity is a great schoolmaster.
111. Adversity makes strange bedfellows.
112. After a storm comes a calm.
113. After dinner comes the reckoning.
114. After dinner sit (sleep) a while, after supper walk a mile.
115. After rain comes fair weather.
116. After us the deluge.
117. Agues come on horseback, but go away on foot.
118. All are good lasses, but whence come the bad wives?
119. All are not friends that speak us fair.

English Proverbs and Sayings

120. All are not hunters that blow the horn.
121. All are not merry that dance lightly.
122. All are not saints that go to church.
123. All asses wag their ears.
124. All bread is not baked in one oven.
125. All cats are grey in the dark (in the night).
126. All covet, all lose.
127. All doors open to courtesy.
128. All is fish that comes to his net.
129. All is not lost that is in peril.
130. All is well that ends well.
131. All lay load on the willing horse.
132. All men can't be first.
133. All men can't be masters.
134. All promises are either broken or kept.
135. All roads lead to Rome
136. All sugar and honey.
137. All that glitters is not gold.
138. All things are difficult before they are easy.
139. All truths are not to be told.
140. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
141. "Almost" never killed a fly (was never hanged).
142. Among the blind the one-eyed man is king.
143. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
144. An ass in a lion's skin.
145. An ass is but an ass, though laden with gold.

English test Proverbs and Sayings



220. Better unborn than untaught.
221. Better untaught than ill-taught.
222. Between the cup and the lip a morsel may slip.
223. Between the devil and the deep (blue) sea.
224. Between two evils 'tis not worth choosing.
225. Between two stools one goes (falls) to the ground.
226. Between the upper and nether millstone.
227. Betwixt and between.
228. Beware of a silent dog and still water.
229. Bind the sack before it be full.
230. Birds of a feather flock together.
231. Blind men can judge no colours.
232. Blood is thicker than water.
233. Borrowed garments never fit well.
234. Brevity is the soul of wit.
235. Burn not your house to rid it of the mouse.
236. Business before pleasure.
237. By doing nothing we learn to do ill.
238. By hook or by crook.
239. By the street of 'by-and-bye' one arrives at the house of 'Never'.
240. Calamity is man's true touchstone.
241. Care killed the cat.
242. Catch the bear before you sell his skin.
243. Caution is the parent of safety.
244. Charity begins at home.
245. Cheapest is the dearest.
246. Cheek brings success.
247. Children and fools must not play with edged tools.
248. Children are poor men's riches.
249. Choose an author as you choose a friend.
250. Christmas comes but once a year, (but when it comes it brings good cheer).
251. Circumstances alter cases.
252. Claw me, and I will claw thee.
253. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
254. Company in distress makes trouble less.
255. Confession is the first step to repentance.

English Proverbs and Sayings

306. Every barber knows that.
307. Every bean has its black.
308. Every bird likes its own nest.
309. Every bullet has its billet.
310. Every country has its customs.
311. Every dark cloud has a silver lining.
312. Every day is not Sunday.
313. Every dog has his day.
314. Every dog is a lion at home.
315. Every dog is valiant at his own door.
316. Every Jack has his Jill.
317. Every man has a fool in his sleeve.
318. Every man has his faults.
319. Every man has his hobby-horse.
320. Every man is the architect of his own fortunes.
321. Every man to his taste.
322. Every miller draws water to his own mill.
323. Every mother thinks her own gosling a swan.
324. Every one's faults are not written in their foreheads.
325. Every tub must stand on its own bottom.
326. Every white has its black, and every sweet its sour.
327. Every why has a wherefore.
328. Everybody's business is nobody's business.
329. Everything comes to him who waits.
330. Everything is good in its season.
331. Evil communications corrupt good manners.
332. Experience is the mother of wisdom.
333. Experience keeps a dear school, but fools learn in no other.
334. Experience keeps no school, she teaches her pupils singly.
335. Extremes meet.
336. Facts are stubborn things.
337. Faint heart never won fair lady.
338. Fair without, foul (false) within.
339. Fair words break no bones.
340. False friends are worse than open enemies.

English Proverbs and Sayings

431. He that comes first to the hill may sit where he will.
432. He that commits a fault thinks everyone speaks of it.
433. He that does you an i!i turn will never forgive you.
434. He that fears every bush must never go a-birding.
435. He that fears you present wiil hate you absent.
436. He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing.
437. He that goes barefoot must not plant thorns.
438. He that has a full purse never wanted a friend.
439. He that has a great nose thinks everybody is speaking of it.
440. He that has an ill name is half hanged.
441. He that has no children knows not what love is.
442. He that has He head needs no hat.
443. He that has no money needs no purse.
444. He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.
445. He that is full of himself is very empty.
446. He that is ill to himself will be good to nobody.
447. He that is warm thinks all so.
448. He that knows nothing doubts nothing.
449. He that lies down with dogs must rise up with fleas.
450. He that lives with cripples learns to limp.
451. He that mischief hatches, mischief catches.
452. He that never climbed never fell.
453. He that once deceives is ever suspected.
454. He that promises too much means nothing.
455. He that respects not is not respected.
456. He that seeks trouble never misses.
457. He that serves everybody is paid by nobody.
458. He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages.
459. He that spares the bad injures the good.

English Proverbs and Sayings

541. Jest with an ass and he will flap you in the face with his tail.
542. Judge not of men and things at first sight.
543. Just as the twig is bent, the tree is inclined.
544. Keep a thing seven years and you will find a use for it.
545. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.
546. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open.
547. Last, but not least.
548. Laws catch flies, but let hornets go free.
549. Learn to creep before you leap.
550. Learn to say before you sing.
551. Learn wisdom by the follies of others.
552. Least said, soonest mended.
553. Leaves without figs.
554. Let bygones be bygones.
555. Let every man praise the bridge he goes over.
556. Let sleeping dogs lie.
557. Let well (enough) alone.
558. Liars need good memories.
559. Lies have short legs.
560. Life is but a span.
561. Life is not a bed of roses.
562. Life is not all cakes and ale (beer and skittles).
563. Like a cat on hot bricks.
564. Like a needle in a haystack.
565. Like begets like.
566. Like cures like.
567. Like father, like son.
568. Like draws to like.
569. Like master, like man.
570. Like mother, like daughter.
571. Like parents, like children.
572. Like priest, like people.
573. Like teacher, like pupil.
574. Little chips light great fires.
575. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
576. Little pigeons can carry great messages.
577. Little pitchers have long ears.
578. Little strokes fell great oaks.
579. Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape.
580. Little things amuse little minds.

English Proverbs and Sayings

581. Live and learn.
582. Live and let live.
583. Live not to eat, but eat to live.
584. Long absent, soon forgotten.
585. Look before you leap.
586. Look before you leap, but having leapt never look back.
587. Lookers-on see more than players.
588. Lord (God, Heaven) helps those (them) who help themselves.
589. Lost time is never found again.
590. Love cannot be forced.
591. Love in a cottage.
592. Love is blind, as well as hatred.
593. Love me, love my dog.
594. Love will creep where it may not go.
595. Make haste slowly.
596. Make hay while the sun shines.
597. Make or mar.
598. Man proposes but God disposes.
599. Many a fine dish has nothing on it.
600. Many a good cow has a bad calf.
601. Many a good father has but a bad son.
602. Many a little makes a mickle.
603. Many a true word is spoken in jest.
604. Many hands make light work.
605. Many men, many minds.
606. Many words hurt more than swords.
607. Many words will not fill a bushel.
608. Marriages are made in heaven.
609. Measure for measure.
610. Measure thrice and cut once.
611. Men may meet but mountains never.
612. Mend or end (end or mend).
613. Might goes before right.
614. Misfortunes never come alone (singly).
615. Misfortunes tell us what fortune is.
616. Money begets money.
617. Money has no smell.
618. Money is a good servant but a bad master.
619. Money often unmakes the men who make it.

English Proverbs and Sayings


646. New brooms sweep clean.
647. New lords, new laws.
648. Nightingales will not sing in a cage.
649. No flying from fate.
650. No garden without its weeds.
651. No great loss without some small gain.
652. No herb will cure love.
653. No joy without alloy.
654. No living man all things can.
655. No longer pipe, no longer dance.
656. No man is wise at all times.
657. No man loves his fetters, be they made of gold.
658. No news (is) good news.
659. No pains, no gains.
660. No song, no supper.
661. No sweet without (some) sweat.
662. No wisdom like silence.
663. None but the brave deserve the fair.
664. None so blind as those who won't see.
665. None so deaf as those that won't hear.
666. Nothing comes out of the sack but what was in it.
667. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
668. Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas.
669. Nothing so bad, as not to be good for something.
670. Nothing succeeds like success.

English Proverbs and Sayings


715. Repentance is good, but innocence is better.
716. Respect yourself, or no one else will respect you.
717. Roll my log and I will roll yours.
718. Rome was not built in a day.
719. Salt water and absence wash away love.
720. Saying and doing are two things.
721. Score twice before you cut once.
722. Scornful dogs will eat dirty puddings.
723. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
724. Self done is soon done.
725. Self done is well done.
726. Self is a bad counsellor.
727. Self-praise is no recommendation.
728. Set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the devil.
729. Set a thief to catch a thief.
730. Shallow streams make most din.
731. Short debts (accounts) make long friends.
732. Silence gives consent.
733. Since Adam was a boy.
734. Sink or swim!
735. Six of one and half a dozen of the other.
736. Slow and steady wins the race.
737. Slow but sure.
738. Small rain lays great dust.
739. So many countries, so many customs.
740. So many men, so many minds.

English Proverbs and Sayings

811. The pitcher goes often to the well but is broken at last.
812. The pot calls the kettle black.
813. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
814. The receiver is as bad as the thief.
815. The remedy is worse than the disease.
816. The rotten apple injures its neighbours.
817. The scalded dog fears cold water.
818. The tailor makes the man.
819. The tongue of idle persons is never idle.
820. The voice of one man is the voice of no one.
821. The way (the road) to hell is paved with good intentions.
822. The wind cannot be caught in a net.
823. The work shows the workman.
824. There are lees to every wine.
825. There are more ways to the wood than one.
826. There is a place for everything, and everything in its place.
827. There is more than one way to kill a cat.
828. There is no fire without smoke.
829. There is no place like home.
830. There is no rose without a thorn.
831. There is no rule without an exception.
832. There is no smoke without fire.
833. There's many a slip 'tween (== between) the cup and the lip.
834. There's no use crying over spilt milk.
835. They are hand and glove.
836. They must hunger in winter that will not work in summer.
837. Things past cannot be recalled.
838. Think today and speak tomorrow.
839. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
840. Time and tide wait for no man.

English Proverbs and Sayings

841. Time cures all things.
842. Time is money.
843. Time is the great healer.
844. Time works wonders.
845. To add fuel (oil) to the fire (flames).
846. To angle with a silver hook.
847. To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth.
848. To be head over ears in debt.
849. To be in one's birthday suit.
850. To be up to the ears in love.
851. To be wise behind the hand.
852. To beat about the bush.
853. To beat the air.
854. To bring grist to somebody's mill.
855. To build a fire under oneself.
856. To buy a pig in a poke.
857. To call a spade a spade.
858. To call off the dogs.
859. To carry coals to Newcastle.
860. To cast pearls before swine.
861. To cast prudence to the winds.
862. To come away none the wiser.
863. To come off cheap.
864. To come off with a whole skin.
865. To come off with flying colours.
866. To come out dry.
867. To come out with clean hands.
868. To cook a hare before catching him.
869. To cry with one eye and laugh with the other.
870. To cut one's throat with a feather.

English Proverbs and Sayings

901. To make the cup run over.
902. To make (to turn) the air blue.
903. To measure another man's foot by one's own last.
904. To measure other people's corn by one's own bushel.
905. To pay one back in one's own coin.
906. To plough the sand.
907. To pour water into a sieve.
908. To pull the chestnuts out of the fire for somebody.
909. To pull the devil by the tail.
910. To put a spoke in somebody's wheel.
911. To put off till Doomsday.
912. To put (set) the cart before the horse.
913. To rob one's belly to cover one's back.
914. To roll in money.
915. To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
916. To save one's bacon.
917. To send (carry) owls to Athens.
918. To set the wolf to keep the sheep.
919. To stick to somebody like a leech.
920. To strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
921. To take counsel of one's pillow.
922. To take the bull by the horns.
923. To teach the dog to bark.
924. To tell tales out of school.
925. To throw a stone in one's own garden.
926. To throw dust in somebody's eyes.
927. To throw straws against the wind.
928. To treat somebody with a dose of his own medicine.
929. To use a steam-hammer to crack nuts.
930. To wash one's dirty linen in public.
931. To wear one's heart upon one's sleeve.
932. To weep over an onion.
933. To work with the left hand.
934. Tomorrow come never.
935. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
936. Too much knowledge makes the head bald.
937. Too much of a good thing is good for nothing.
938. Too much water drowned the miller .
939. Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.
940. True blue will never stain.

English Proverbs and Sayings

971. When angry, count a hundred.
972. When at Rome, do as the Romans do.
973. When children stand quiet, they have done some harm.
974. When flatterers meet, the devil goes to dinner.
975. When guns speak it is too late to argue.
976. When pigs fly.
977. When Queen Anne was alive.
978. When the cat is away, the mice will play.
979. When the devil is blind.
980. When the fox preaches, take care of your geese.
981. When the pinch comes, you remember the old shoe.
982. When three know it, alt know it.
983. When wine is in wit is out.
984. Where there's a will, there's a way.
985. While the grass grows the horse starves.
986. While there is life there is hope.
987. Who breaks, pays.
988. Who has never tasted bitter, knows not what is sweet.
989. Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl.
990. Wise after the event.
991. With time and patience the leaf of the mulberry becomes satin.
992. Words pay no debts.
993. You can take a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink.
994. You cannot eat your cake and have it.
995. You cannot flay the same ox twice.
996. You cannot judge a tree by it bark.
997. You cannot teach old dogs new tricks.
998. You cannot wash charcoal white.
999. You made your bed, now lie in it.
1000. Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse