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My Proverbs and Idioms > Proverbs > Flashcards

Proverbs Flashcards

1
Q

Any port in a storm

A

in an emergency, we’ll accept help from anywhere

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2
Q

a bad penny always turns up

A

our mistakes return to haunt us; also, nasty people have a way of reappearing

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3
Q

brevity is the soul of wit

A

intelligent speech and writing should aim to use few words, from Hamlet

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4
Q

the chickens have come home to roost

A

the consequences of earlier actions are making themselves felt

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5
Q

cold hands, warm heart

A

cold hands indicate affection, possibly because the emotions affect blood circulation

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6
Q

The course of true love never did runs smooth

A

true love always encounters difficulties, from Midsummer Night’s Dream

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7
Q

There’s no accounting for taste

A

When it comes to subjective matters, people have wildly different opinions

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8
Q

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose

A

even things that are good in themselves (the bible) can be twisted to serve bad purposes, from The Merchant of Venice

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9
Q

Discretion is the better part of valor

A

Caution is preferable to rash bravery, said by Falstaff in King Henry IV, Part I

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10
Q

Do not cast your pearls before swine

A

do not waste good things on people who will not appreciate them, came from Jesus warning disciples to preach only to receptive audiences

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11
Q

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face

A

don’t engage in an act of anger or revenge that will hurt you more than it hurts anyone else

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12
Q

Don’t hide your light under a bushel

A

Do not conceal your talents or abilities, Jesus is telling believers to not hide their faith

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13
Q

Don’t lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

A

it’s foolish to take precautions after the damage is done

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14
Q

Don’t put the cart before the horse

A

begin at the proper place, do things in their proper order

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15
Q

East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet

A

the culture of the West (Europe and America) will always be different than the East (Asia)

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16
Q

Feed a cold, starve a fever

A

eating will help cure a cold, not eating will help cure a fever

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17
Q

Fish or cut bait

A

make a decision now, stop hesitating; to cut bait is to stop fishing

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18
Q

a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds

A

a great person does not have to think consistently from one day to the next, from “Self Reliance”

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19
Q

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread

A

foolish people are often reckless, attempting feels that the wise avoid, from “An Essay on Criticism” by Alexander Pope

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20
Q

For want of a nail the kingdom was lost

A

something of great importance may depend on an apparently trivial detail; longer version is the loss of a nail in a horseshoe leads to the loss of the horse, then rider, then battle, then kingdom

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21
Q

forewarned is forearmed

A

those who know something is coming are better prepared to face it than those who do not know

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22
Q

Frailty, thy name is woman!

A

women are weaker than men, from hamlet

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23
Q

From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step

A

In life, things that are noble and magnificent are never far from things that are trivial and laughable, said by Napoleon

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24
Q

the game is not worth the candle

A

what we would get from the undertaking is not worth the effort, refers to game of cards in which the stakes are smaller than the cost of burning a candle for light to play the game

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25
Q

Give the devil his due

A

Admit it when there is some good even in a person you dislike, from Don Quixote

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26
Q

Great oaks from little acorns grow

A

great things or people often have humble origins

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27
Q

half a loaf is better than none

A

something is better than nothing

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28
Q

hitch your wagon to a star

A

aim high, hope for great things, from Ralph Waldo Emerson

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29
Q

Hope springs eternal

A

people always hope for the best, even in the face of adversity, from “An Essay on Man” by Alexander Pope

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30
Q

If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain

A

If someone won’t do this for me, I’ll do it myself; or we may find a way to make a difficult situation better if we simply think about it in a different way

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31
Q

If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride

A

If wishing could make things happen, then even the most destitute people would have everything they wanted

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32
Q

In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love

A

Spring is the season for love, from “Locksley Hall” by Lord Alfred Tennyson

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33
Q

It ain’t a fit night out for man or beast

A

The night is terrible cold and stormy, from comedian W.C. Fields in the film “The Factual Glass of Beer”

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34
Q

It takes a pear o’ living’ in a house t’ make it home

A

a house is just a building until we have lived in it long enough for it to feel like “home”, from Edgar A. Guest

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35
Q

It’s never too late to mend

A

you’re never too old to change your ways, learning is always possible

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36
Q

laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone

A

people prefer cheerfulness in others to gloominess, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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37
Q

Life is short; art is long

A

good work takes time to accomplish, from Hippocrates

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38
Q

Little pitchers have big ears

A

adults must be careful about what they say within hearing of children, refers to the large handles (ears) sometimes attached to small pitchers

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39
Q

Little strokes fell great oaks

A

limited strength when persistently applied can accomplish great feats, from Benjamin Franklin in “Poor Richard’s Almanac”

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40
Q

Money is the root of all evil

A

all wrong-doing can be traced to an excessive attachment to material wealth, from Apostle Paul

41
Q

Make haste slowly

A

the quickest way to accomplish something is to proceed deliberately

42
Q

Make hay while the sun shines

A

Take advantage of favorable circumstances, they may not last

43
Q

Man does not live by bread alone

A

People have spiritual as well as physical needs, from Moses to the Israelites in Exodus

44
Q

Man proposes, God disposes

A

People can make plans; God determines how things will turn out

45
Q

marry in haste, repent at leisure

A

if we marry without thinking about the decision, we will have a lifetime to regret the choice

46
Q

a miss is as good as a mile

A

a near miss is still a miss

47
Q

murder will out

A

crime or wrongdoing will eventually be discovered and punished

48
Q

music has charms to soothe a savage beast

A

Music has the power to enchant even the roughest of people. Comes from “The Mourning Bride” play by William Congreve

49
Q

Necessity is the mother of invention

A

A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem. Comes from “Republic” by Plato

50
Q

Never give a sucker an even break

A

Don’t hesitate to take advantage of a fool. Served as the title for a film by W.C. Fields

51
Q

A new broom sweeps clean

A

New leadership injects energy

52
Q

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people

A

People can easily be persuaded to accept the most inferior ideas or useless products; comes from H.L. Mencken

53
Q

Nothing succeeds like success

A

Success breeds more success

54
Q

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

A

If you don’t risk anything, you won’t gain anything

55
Q

Nothing will come of nothing

A

You will gain nothing if you invest nothing, from King Lear, he says this to Cordelia that she will gain no favors from him if she does not flatter him

56
Q

Old soldiers never die; they only fade away

A

line from a popular song among soldiers in Britain during WW I, quoted by General Douglas MacArthur when he was relieved from the Korean War

57
Q

Once bitten, twice shy

A

An injury makes a person wary of its cause

58
Q

One good turn deserves another

A

A kindness is properly met with another kindness

59
Q

One man’s meat is another man’s poison

A

What is good for one person may be bad for another

60
Q

The one who pays the piper calls the tune

A

The person who hires another determines the services to be rendered

61
Q

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

A

A little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward

62
Q

Poets are born, not made

A

Poets, like all true artists possess talent that cannot be taught

63
Q

Politics makes strange bedfellows

A

Political interest can bring together people who otherwise have little in common, from “The Tempest”, said by someone who is shipwrecked and seeks shelter beside a sleeping monster

64
Q

Procrastination is the thief of time

A

Putting things off robs us of the opportunity to accomplish something

65
Q

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

A

Actual use is the best test, from Don Quixote

66
Q

A rolling stone gathers no moss

A

people pay a price for being always on the move because they have no roots in a specific place; or people who keep moving avoid picking up responsibilities and cares

67
Q

Sic transit gloria mundi (Thus passes away the glory of the world)

A

worldly things do not last

68
Q

a soft answer turneth away wrath

A

a gentle reply to someone who is angry will pacify that person, from the Book of Proverbs

69
Q

Still waters run deep

A

A person’s calm exterior often conceals great depths of character, just as the deepest streams can have the smoothest surfaces

70
Q

A stich in time saves nine

A

A little preventative maintenance can eliminate the need for major repairs later

71
Q

Stone walls do not a prison make

A

External constraints cannot imprison someone whose spirit and thoughts are free. From “To Althea: From Prison” poem by Richard Lovelace

72
Q

There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip

A

Between the time we decide to do something and the time we do it, things often go wrong

73
Q

There’s no fool like an old fool

A

The most extreme fools are people whose age should have made them wise

74
Q

Time and tide wait for no man

A

The processes of nature continue, no matter how much we might like them to stop.

75
Q

Too many cooks spoil the broth

A

When too many people work together on a project, the result is inferior

76
Q

Turnabout is fair play

A

You had your turn; now it’s only fair that I should have mine

77
Q

Walls have ears

A

We may be overheard without our knowing it

78
Q

Waste not, want not

A

If we don’t waste what we have, we’ll still have it in the future and will not lack (want) it.

79
Q

We have met the enemy, and they are us

A

Evil or upsetting forces exist within, not without. Comes from “Pogo” comic strip by Walt Kelly

80
Q

Well begun is half done

A

A good beginning almost assures success

81
Q

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander

A

What is good for a man is equally good for a woman

82
Q

When the cat’s away, the mice will play

A

When a person of authority is away those under the person’s rule will enjoy their freedom

83
Q

Where are the snows of yesteryear?

A

Why does life fade so quickly? Comes from French poet Francois Villon

84
Q

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

A

If you want something badly enough, you can find the means to get it

85
Q

While there’s life, there’s hope

A

Never give up

86
Q

The wish is father of the deed

A

Desire leads to action

87
Q

A woman’s work is never done

A

A woman must often work longer hours than a man

88
Q

A word to the wise is sufficient

A

Intelligent people can take hints, they don’t have to have it spelled out in great length

89
Q

The worm turns

A

One’s luck or fortune changes

90
Q

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

A

Our fantasies/myths are important, and often hey are spiritually if not literally true. Said in 1897 newspaper editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church replying to a girl named Virginia who said her friends told her there was no Santa Claus

91
Q

You cannot serve God and mammon

A

Being virtuous is not compatible with being greedy (mammon means money)

92
Q

You can’t go home again

A

You can’t recover the past, the title of a Thomas Wolfe novel

93
Q

You can’t have your cake and eat it too

A

the things people want are often incompatible

94
Q

You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear

A

It is impossible to make something excellent from poor material

95
Q

You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs

A

We must give up or destroy something to gain something

96
Q

You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip

A

You can only get from people what they are willing or able to give

97
Q

You can’t take it with you

A

We all must leave worldly wealth behind when we die, title of a comedy by playwrights Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman about an unconventional family fiercely opposed to materialistic values

98
Q

You can’t unscramble an egg

A

Some processes are irreversible

My Proverbs and Idioms (2 decks)

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