The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. Proverbs
Many hands make light work , but at the same time, too many cooks spoil the broth . Which of these contradictory proverbs shall we believe? Both, because in different contexts, both are true to experience. If not, they probably would not have survived. If the job to be done requires lots of unskilled labor, such as picking up trash, then many hands do make light work. But if the job requires intricate skill, such as cooking or writing, or if it requires a single guiding hand, then too many cooks do spoil the broth. 1 Proverbs are short, pithy sayings that reflect the accumulated wisdom, prejudices, and superstitions of the human race. In general, the particular phrasing of the proverbs, not their ideas, is what belongs to the cultural literacy of each nation and language. The ideas they express are often common to many nations. For instance, in German it is said, “Viele Hände bringt’s gleich zu Ende”—literally, “many hands bring it quickly to a conclusion.” But the literal sense doesn’t capture the punch of the German version, which is a little rhyme : Viele Hände (pronounced “hen-duh”) Bringt’s gleich zu Ende (pronounced “en-duh”).
2 In English, few would pay attention to the proverb “An apple a day keeps the doctor away ” were it not for the rhyme. Indeed, it is hard to find the equivalent of this proverb in any other language, because it rhymes only in English. It sounds silly in French and ridiculous in Italian. The rhyme alone makes us remember it—and encourages us to believe it. 3 We have included these little poems and nuggets of wisdom, false and true, because they have become part of our cultural vocabulary. On many occasions when people invoke proverbs in speech and writing, they simply allude to them, rather than complete them. If someone offers you a fruit and says, “An apple a day,” the communication will fail if you don’t know the relevant proverb; you will be an outsider. We don’t wish to encourage ideas such as “Boys will be boys ” or “Frailty, thy name is woman! ”; in fact, we would prefer people question proverbial wisdom rather than accept it blindly. But we also want to give everybody the chance to be an insider in literate American culture.—E.D.H.
4 Entries
Absence makes the heart grow fonder Actions speak louder than words All for one and one for all All roads lead to Rome All that glitters is not gold All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All’s fair in love and war All’s well that ends well Any port in a storm An apple a day keeps the doctor away April showers bring May flowers An army marches on its stomach Bad news travels fast A bad penny always turns up The bad workman always blames his tools [His] bark is worse than his bite Beauty is only skin deep Beggars can’t be choosers The best of friends must part The best things in life are free The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry Better late than never Better safe than sorry Beware of Greeks bearing gifts The bigger they come, the harder they fall A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush Birds of a feather flock together Blood is thicker than water Boys will be boys Brevity is the soul of wit The buck stops here Business before pleasure Carpe diem The chickens have come home to roost Cleanliness is next to godliness Close, but no cigar Cold hands, warm heart The course of true love never did run smooth Curiosity killed the cat De gustibus non est disputandum The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose The devil is in the details Discretion is the better part of valor Do not cast your pearls before swine Do unto others as you would have them do unto you A dog is a man’s best friend Don’t count your chickens before they hatch Don’t cry over spilt milk Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes Don’t give up the ship Don’t hide your light under a bushel Don’t judge a book by its cover Don’t lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth Don’t put all your eggs in one basket Don’t put the cart before the horse Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water The early bird catches the worm Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet Easy come, easy go Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die Every cloud has a silver lining Every dog has his day Everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes Experience is the best teacher Familiarity breeds contempt Feed a cold; starve a fever Finders keepers, losers weepers Fish or cut bait Fish out of water A fool and his money are soon parted A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds Fools rush in where angels fear to tread For want of a nail the kingdom was lost Forewarned is forearmed Frailty, thy name is woman! A friend in need is a friend indeed From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step The game is not worth the candle Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration Give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself Give the devil his due God helps those who help themselves Good fences make good neighbors A good man is hard to find The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence Great oaks from little acorns grow Half a loaf is better than none Haste makes waste He who hesitates is lost He who laughs last, laughs best Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned Here today, gone tomorrow Hitch your wagon to a star Honesty is the best policy Hope springs eternal If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain If the shoe fits, wear it If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen Ignorance is bliss Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes It ain’t a fit night out for man or beast It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home It takes a thief to catch a thief It takes two to tango It’s never over till it’s over It’s never too late to mend It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game Knowledge is power Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone Leave well enough alone The leopard cannot change its spots Let bygones be bygones Let sleeping dogs lie Let them eat cake Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it Life is short; art is long Lightning never strikes twice in the same place A little learning is a dangerous thing Little pitchers have big ears Little strokes fell great oaks Live and learn Live and let live Look before you leap Love conquers all Love makes the world go `round The love of money is the root of all evil Make haste slowly Make hay while the sun shines Man does not live by bread alone A man is known by the company he keeps Man proposes, God disposes A man’s home is his castle Many hands make light work Marry in haste, repent at leisure The meek shall inherit the Earth Misery loves company A miss is as good as a mile Money is the root of all evil The more the merrier Murder will out Music has charms to soothe a savage breast Necessity is the mother of invention Never give a sucker an even break Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today Never say die A new broom sweeps clean Nice guys finish last No man can serve two masters No man is an island No news is good news No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people No rest for the weary Nothing succeeds like success Nothing ventured, nothing gained Nothing will come of nothing Oil and water don’t mix Old soldiers never die; they only fade away Once bitten, twice shy One good turn deserves another One man’s meat is another man’s poison One [or A] picture is worth a thousand words One rotten (or bad) apple spoils the barrel The one who pays the piper calls the tune An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure Out of sight, out of mind Out of the frying pan, into the fire The pen is mightier than the sword A penny saved is a penny earned People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones A place for everything and everything in its place Poets are born, not made Politics makes strange bedfellows Practice makes perfect Practice what you preach Pride goeth before a fall Procrastination is the thief of time The proof of the pudding is in the eating Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s The road to hell is paved with good intentions A rolling stone gathers no moss Rome wasn’t built in a day Seeing is believing The show must go on Sic transit gloria mundi Silence is golden Slow but steady wins the race A soft answer turneth away wrath Step on a crack, break your mother’s back Still waters run deep A stitch in time saves nine Stone walls do not a prison make Strike while the iron is hot Take the bitter with the sweet There are plenty of fish in the sea There’s many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip There’s more than one way to skin a cat There’s no accounting for taste There’s no fool like an old fool There’s no place like home Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it Time and tide wait for no man Time heals all wounds Time is money To err is human, to forgive divine Too many cooks spoil the broth Truth is stranger than fiction Truth will out Turnabout is fair play Two heads are better than one Two wrongs don’t make a right Two’s company, three’s a crowd Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown Variety is the spice of life Walls have ears Waste not, want not A watched pot never boils We have met the enemy, and they are us Well begun is half done What will be, will be What’s good for the goose is good for the gander When in Rome, do as the Romans do When it rains, it pours When the cat’s away, the mice will play When the going gets tough, the tough get going Where are the snows of yesteryear? Where there’s a will, there’s a way Where there’s smoke there’s fire While there’s life, there’s hope Win this one for the Gipper Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing The wish is father of the deed A woman’s work is never done A word to the wise is sufficient Work expands to fill the time available for its completion The worm turns Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. You cannot serve God and mammon You can’t fit a round peg in a square hole You can’t go home again You can’t have your cake and eat it too You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip You can’t take it with you You can’t teach an old dog new tricks You can’t unscramble an egg You’ve made your bed, now lie in it
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
