Little Red Book of Proverbs

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Little Red Book of Proverbs

Terry O’Brien

Published by Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd 2011 7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi 110002 Sales centres: Allahabad Bengaluru Chennai Hyderabad Jaipur Kathmandu Kolkata Mumbai Copyright © Terry O’Brien 2011 The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and the facts are as reported by him, which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-81-291-1808-0 Eighth impression 2022 10 9 8 The moral right of the author has been asserted. Typeset by Innovative Processors, New Delhi Printed at Repro India Limited, India This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

I dedicate this book to late Prof. A.P. O’Brien, my father, friend, guide and mentor, who inspired me to the canon of excellence: re-imagining what’s essential

PREFACE

A proverb, (from the Latin proverbium), is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated. Each proverb expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim. If a proverb is distinguished by particularly good phrasing, it may be known as an aphorism. However some proverbs may sound unacceptable with the changing times. A proverb could have woman power up in arms: “A dog, a wife and a walnut tree, the more you beat them the better they will be.” Proverbs are more than just catchy sayings. They are rules for living. They are concentrated truths. They are like a can of frozen orange juice; you merely add water to expand it. The purpose of the Proverbs is that we might know WISDOM. ™ Paremiology is the study of proverbs. ™ Paremiography is the collection of proverbs. ™ Perverb is the anti-proverb: In such cases, a familiar proverb is twisted to change the meaning. Sometimes the result is merely humorous; the most spectacular examples result in the opposite meaning of the standard proverb: “Nerds of a feather flock together”; “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and

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likely to talk about it,” and “Absence makes the heart grow wander”. Anti-proverbs are common on T-shirts, such as “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.” Proverbs are popular sayings which contain advice or state a generally accepted truth. Most proverbs have their origins in oral tradition. Proverbs are generally worded in such a way as to be remembered easily and tend to change little from generation to generation, so much so that sometimes their specific meaning is no longer relevant. For instance, the proverb “penny wise, pound foolish” is a holdover from when America was a British colony and used the pound as currency. Proverbs function as “folk wisdom,” general advice about how to act and live. They often strongly reflect the cultural values and physical environment from which they arise. For instance, island cultures such as Hawaii have proverbs about the sea. Eastern cultures have proverbs about elephants, and American proverbs, many collected and published by Benjamin Franklin, are about hard work bringing success. And there are contemporary proverbs, even seen on T-shirts. Proverbs are used to support arguments, to provide lessons and instruction, and to stress shared values. However, proverbs are not clichés. Clichés are widely used, even overused, phrases that are often metaphorical in nature. Clichés often have their origins in literature, television, or movies rather than in folk tradition. Some Common Features of Proverbs: ™ Proverbs are passed down through time with little change in form.

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™ Proverbs are often used metaphorically and it is in understanding their metaphorical nature that we can unravel their meaning. While “a stitch in time saves nine,” “don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched,” and “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” are common proverbs, few of us stitch clothes, count chickens, or throw out bathwater. ™ Proverbs often make use of grammatical and rhetorical devices that help make them memorable, including alliteration, rhyme, parallel structure, repetition of key words or phrases, and strong imagery. Enjoy reading each proverb! Terry O’Brien

American Proverbs

A Õ A handful of gold is a heart of iron – Material wealth and prosperity in no way denotes honest labor or ethical practices Õ Act your age, not your shoe size – Act maturely Õ A good friend is someone who will bail you out of jail, but your best friend is the one sitting next to you saying “Man, that was fun!” A close friend will help you out of a dark situation, but your best friend will always be with you even in the darkest of days Õ A horse with two heads wins no races – A situation has too many people trying to lead, with no unified direction Õ All hat, no cattle – Used to describe someone who is pretending to be something they’re not (such as wearing a cowboy hat and acting like a cowboy, when you don’t have any cows) Õ All’s fair in love, war and journalism Õ Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades – In the game of horseshoes, if the horseshoe lands within a certain distance of the target, it gets a point. Grenades only need to be thrown within a certain distance of a person to work, and with nuclear weapons and carpet bombings, accuracy is only moderately necessary Õ A man who acts as his own attorney has a fool for a client Õ An apple a day keeps the doctor away – Originated

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Õ Õ Õ

Õ Õ Õ

Little Red Book of Proverbs

in the 1900s as a marketing slogan dreamed up by American growers concerned that the temperance movement would cut into sales of apple cider An idle mind is the devil’s workshop/playground – The more lazy or less productive you are, the more prone you are to bad temptations and ideas An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure – Saving is another form of earning As California goes, so goes the nation – If one person does something interesting, people will soon follow As the crow flies – Often used when referring to the location of a destination in terms of time or distance. For instance, “It is six miles away as the crow flies” or, “It takes two hours as the crow flies but the creek is flooded so you’ll have to take the long way around” As the twig is bent, so inclines the tree A bad guy is another man’s good guy – Everyone has his or her own opinion A wise man admits his ignorance; an ignorant man admits he’s wise

B Õ Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone – Be careful what you wish for; you might get it Õ Be the best that you can be – Be yourself in every situation Õ Begin where you end – Plan with a desired outcome in mind Õ Be useful better than beautiful Õ Back to square one

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C Õ Can’t see it from my house Õ Close, but no cigar – Close is nice, but it isn’t enough Õ Chase two rabbits and they’ll both get away – Don’t overextend yourself Õ Character is what you are in the dark – Public image is not as important as true character

D Õ Different strokes for different folks – Different people have different opinions on things Õ Do as I say, not as I do Õ Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – If you are going to do something you are not supposed to, be ready to accept the consequences Õ Don’t remove a fly from your friend’s head with a hatchet Õ Don’t bite the hand that feeds you Õ Don’t get high on your own supply – Don’t get greedy or don’t get so much stuff that most of it is useless Õ Don’t make your monster so big that you can’t feed it – Don’t make your project so ambitious that you won’t be able to keep up with it day to day Õ Don’t take any wooden nickels – Don’t get cheated Õ Don’t say it, do it Õ Don’t walk around with your butt on your shoulders – Don’t be overly proud based on your achievements Õ Do unto others as you would have them do unto you Õ Don’t be sorry, be different!

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Little Red Book of Proverbs

Õ Don’t ever let school get in the way of your education [Mark Twain]

F Õ Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice, shame on both of us Õ Fortune favors the bold Õ Fly by the seat of your pants Õ Failing to plan is planning to fail

G Õ Good fences make good neighbors Õ Good enough for Government work

H Õ Haste makes waste – Doing things too fast is inefficient Õ Hay is for horses – A gentle rebuke that one shouldn’t greet another with the expression “Hey, you!” Õ He who has the gold makes the rules Õ He who taxes the gold makes the rules – Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Õ He who laughs last laughs the loudest Õ He who laughs last, thinks slowest Õ Ben Franklin said to Poor Richard, “He who teaches himself hath a fool for a teacher, but I must tell you that he who does not teach himself has no teachers at all” – Without teachers we are nowhere Õ Hesitation is a killer – Act quickly, or suffer consequence

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I Õ I don’t know how cloud’s are formed, but the clouds do, and that’s the important thing Õ If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again Õ If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – Don’t meddle with things just for the sake of change, if they’re working fine already Õ If it seems too good to be true then it probably is Õ If it’s free, it’s for me! Õ If three people tell you that you are drunk, you better lie down – If many people tell you that you’re acting inappropriately, you must act appropriately Õ If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride Õ Yeah, and if wishes were horses, we’d all be eatin’ steak – Jayne Cobb Õ If you can’t beat them, join them Õ If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen Õ If you can’t walk, why bother tying your shoes – Doc Michaels Õ If you wait till the last minute, it’ll only take a minute – Procrastinators’ credo; also credo of subordinate workers who are given a task by their boss with a deadline completely inadequate to allow for a wellresearched response or product Õ If you want it bad, you’ll get it bad – Credo of subordinate workers who are given a task by their boss with a deadline and/or budget/manpower resources completely inadequate to allow for a well-researched response or product Õ Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Õ In God we trust, all others pay cash Õ It is better to say nothing and be thought a fool than