Tuesday, March 23, 2010

English proverbs and sayings

These are common English proverbs. They reflect the philosophy, humor and character of English speakers.

1. Time is money

2. Walls have ears

3. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

4. Live and learn

5. At night all cats are grey*

6. There is a time for all things

7. Love is blind

8. Men make houses; women make homes

9. Money talks

10. Necessity is the mother of invention

11. Time flies

12. The child is the father of the man

13. Dog does not eat dog

14. A cat has nine lives

15. It's no use crying over spilt milk

16. Where there's a will, there's a way

17. There's no smoke without fire

18. Never say die

19. Make hay while the sun shines

20. Out of sight, out of mind

21. You can't have your cake and eat it

22. Experience is the best teacher

23. When in Rome, do as Romans do

24. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush

25. No news is good news

26. Live and let live

27. The more you have, the more you want

28. Let sleeping dogs lie

29. Don't put the chart before the horse

30. Better late than never

31. Absense makes the heart grow fonder

32. First come, first served

33. Don't cross your bridges before you come to them

34. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched

35. Still waters run deep

36. He who hesitates is lost

37. Look before you leep

38. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

39. Haste makes waste

40. Finders keepers, losers weepers

41. Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock way

42. Let bygones be bygones

43. Cheer up! The worst is yet to come

44. Better to be alone than in bad company

45. Looks can be deceiving

46. Barking dogs seldom bite

47. Hell is paved with good intentions

48. The calm after the storm

49. The early bird catches the worm

50. Money doesn't grow on trees

51. Birds of a feather flock together / A man is known by the company he keeps

52. Two heads are better than one

53. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

54. A closed mouth catches no flies

55. Do as I say, not as I do

56. Speak of the devil and he appears

57. A burnt child dreads the fire

58. Every dark cloud has a silver lining

58. Out of sight, out of mind

59. Kill two birds with one stone

60. An idle mind is the devil's workshop

61. Don't bite the hand that feeds you

62. Don't bite off more than you can chew

63. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today

64. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill / Don't sweat the small stuff

65. All that glitters is not gold / Not all that glitters is gold

66. All is fair in love and war

67. Crime doesn't pay

68. Success depend on ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration

69. A word to the wise is enough

70. When the cat's away, the mice will play

71. It takes two to make a fight

72. Beauty lies in lovers' eyes

73. Nothing ventured, nothing gained

74. Make do with what you have

75. He who laughs last laughs best

76. Don't wash the family's dirty linen in public

77. If you can't beat them, join them

78. Better be safe than sorry

79. Like father, like son

80. All good things must come to an end

81. Two wrongs don't make a right

82. You scracth my back and I scratch yours

*grey (Great Britain) = gray (United States)

Note: many of the proverbs are equally used in Brazil

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