Proverbs2 Flashcards
(126 cards)
1
Q
Learn from your experience and mistakes.
A
Live and learn.
2
Q
We should know what we are getting ourselves into before committing to something.
A
Look before you leap.
3
Q
Love overcomes all.
A
Love conquers all. Found in works by the Roman poet Virgil.
4
Q
Love is the principle force behind human life.
A
Love makes the world go ‘round.
5
Q
All wrong doing can be sourced back to an excessive attachment to material wealth.
A
The love of money is the root of all evil.
6
Q
The quickest way to accomplish something is to proceed deliberately.
A
Make haste slowly.
7
Q
take advantage of favorable circumstances as they may not last.
A
Make hay while the sun shines.
8
Q
People have spiritual as well as physical needs.
A
Man does not live by bread alone. Spoken by Moses to the Israelites and by Christ to Satan.
9
Q
Our character is reflected by our choice of friends.
A
A man is known by the company he keeps.
10
Q
People can make plans but God determines how things turn out.
A
Man proposes, God disposes.
11
Q
People enjoy the position of rulers in their own home.
A
A man’s home is his castle. Legally reflected in the Bill of Rights.
12
Q
Large tasks become small when divided among many people.
A
Many hands make light work.
13
Q
If we marry without thinking about the decision, we will have a lifetime to regret the choice.
A
Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
14
Q
Pushy people do not succeed in the end.
A
The meek shall inherit the Earth. One of the Beatitudes.
15
Q
People who are unhappy get some consolation from knowing that others are unhappy too.
A
Misery loves company.
16
Q
A near miss is still a miss and no better than missing by a large margin.
A
A miss is as good as a mile.
17
Q
A more extreme version of “the love of money is the root of all evil.”
A
Money is the root of all evil.
18
Q
The more people there are involved in something the more fun it will be.
A
The more the merrier. Used to welcome those who are hesitant to join something uninvited.
19
Q
Crime and wrongdoing will eventually be discovered and punished.
A
Murder will out.
20
Q
Music has the power to enchant even the roughest of people.
A
Music has charms to soothe a savage beast. comes form The Mourning Bride by William Congreve.
21
Q
A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem.
A
Necessity is the mother of invention. Appears in the Republic by Plato.
22
Q
Don’t hesitate to take advantage of a fool.
A
Never give a sucker an even break. Used as the title of a film by W.C. Fields.
23
Q
Don’t procrastinate.
A
Never put off tomorrow what you can do today.
24
Q
Never give up.
A
Never say die.
25
Winning requires toughness, even ruthlessness.
Nice guys finish last. Attributed to baseball manager Leo Durocher.
26
Loyalties must not be divided.
No one can serve two masters. A teaching from the sermon on the mount.
27
No one is self sufficient. We rely on others.
No man is an island. Attributed to John Donne.
28
Not hearing about a situation means nothing bad has happened.
No news is good news.
29
People can be persuaded to accept inferior ideas or products.
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. Attributed to H. L. Menken.
30
You must keep persevering no matter how tired or overworked you are.
No rest for the weary. A variant is "no rest for the wicked."
31
Success breeds more success.
Nothing succeeds like success.
32
If you don't take risks, you won't gain anything.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
33
You will gain nothing if you invest nothing.
Nothing will come of nothing. Spoken by King Lear in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare.
34
Certain qualities and personalities are incompatible.
Oil and water don't mix.
35
A line from a song popular among British soldiers during World War I.
Old soldiers never die; they only fade away. Became more famous after Douglas MacArthur quoted it after being relieved in the Korean War.
36
An injury makes a person wary of its cause.
Once bitten twice shy.
37
A kindness is properly met with a kindness.
One good turn deserves another.
38
What is good for one person may be bad for another.
One man's meat is another man's poison.
39
An image can convey an idea or emotion more effectively than words.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
40
A single bad influence can ruin what is otherwise good.
One bad apple spoils the barrel.
41
The person who hires another determines the services to be rendered.
The one who pays the piper calls the tune.
42
A little precaution before a crisis is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Quoted by Benjamin Franklin.
43
We often forget about things or people that are absent.
Out of sight, out of mind.
44
Going from a bad situation to one that is even worse.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Refers to the necessity of making a choice between two difficult options.
45
Human history is influenced more by the written word than by warfare.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
46
Money not spent is money that is in one's pocket.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
47
We shouldn't complain about others if we are as bad as they are.
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
48
Things should be kept in order.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
49
Poets, like all true artists, possess talent that cannot be taught.
Poets are born, not made.
50
Political interests can bring together people who otherwise have little in common.
Politics make strange bedfellows. Adapted from a line from The Tempest by William Shakespeare.
51
Doing something over and over makes one better at it.
Practice makes perfect.
52
Do yourself what you advise others to do.
Practice what you preach.
53
People who are overconfident are likely to fail.
Pride goeth before a fall. Adapted from the Book of Proverbs.
54
Putting things off robs us of the opportunity to accomplish something.
Procrastination is the thief of time.
55
Actual use is the best test.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Appears in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
56
Keep politics separate from certain other fields.
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. A saying of Jesus.
57
Merely intending to do good, without actually doing it, is of no value.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
58
People who are always on the move never have roots or a specific place. People who keep moving avoid responsibilities and cares.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
59
Valuable projects take time.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
60
I'll believe it when I see it with my own eyes.
Seeing is believing.
61
People are counting on us to do this, and we can't disappoint them.
The show must go on. A fundamental principle of entertainers.
62
Latin for "thus passes away the glory of the world." Worldly things don't last.
Sic transit gloria mundi. (sik tran-sit glawr-ee-uh moon-dee)
63
Silence is of great value.
Silence is golden.
64
Consistent, effective effort leads to success.
Slow but steady wins the race. The moral of "The Tortoise and the Hare."
65
A gentle reply to someone who is angry will pacify that person.
A soft answer turneth away wrath. Comes from the Book of Proverbs.
66
Bad luck will come from stepping on the seams of a sidewalk.
Step on a crack, break your mother's back.
67
A person's calm exterior often conceals great depths of character.
Still waters run deep.
68
A little preventative maintenance can eliminate the need for major repairs later.
A stitch in time saves nine.
69
External constraints cannot imprison someone whose spirit and thoughts are free.
Stone walls do not a prison make. From the poem, "To Althea: from prison" by Richard Lovelace.
70
Take advantage of favorable circumstances while they last.
Strike while the iron is hot.
71
Accept life's misfortunes as well as its joys.
Take the bitter with the sweet.
72
There are lots of potential mates in the world.
There are plenty of fish in the sea. Used to console someone who has lost a girlfriend or boyfriend.
73
Between the time we decide to do something and the time we do it, things often go wrong.
There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.
74
Tasks can be accomplished in many ways.
There's more than one way to skin a cat.
75
The most extreme fools are those whose age should have made them wise.
There's no fool like an old fool.
76
Home is the best of all places.
There's no place like home.
77
Studying history is necessary to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Written by George Santayana.
78
The processes of nature continue, no matter how much we try to stop them.
Time and tide wait for no man.
79
People eventually get over insults, injuries and hatreds.
Time heals all wounds.
80
If we don't use our working time to earn money, we are in effect losing money.
Time is money.
81
All people make mistakes. It is godlike to forgive mistakes.
To err is human, to forgive divine. Written by Alexander Pope.
82
When too many people work together on a project, the result is inferior.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
83
Sometimes what actually happens is more bizarre than what could have been imagined.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
84
One way or another, despite efforts to conceal it, the truth will become known.
Truth will out.
85
You had your turn; now its only fair that I have mine.
Turnabout is fair play.
86
Some problems may be solved more easily by two people working together than by one person alone.
Two heads are better than one.
87
An evil act can't be corrected by more evil.
Two wrongs don't make a right.
88
One companion is better than two.
Two's company, three's a crowd. Often said by couples who want to be by themselves.
89
A person burdened with great responsibilities doesn't sleep well at night.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Comes from King Henry the Fourth by William Shakespeare.
90
Changes and new experiences make life enjoyable.
Variety is the spice of life.
91
We may be overheard without our knowing it.
Walls have ears. Used as a warning to those who share secrets.
92
If we don't waste what we have, we will have it in the future and not have a want for it.
Waste not, want not.
93
Something we wait for with impatient attention seems to take forever.
A watched pot never boils.
94
Evil exists within, not without.
We have met the enemy, and they are us. A twist on the words by Oliver Hazard Perry; We have met the enemy, and they are ours. The twisted version was first used in a comic strip called Pogo by Walt Kelly and referred to the Vietnam war.
95
A good beginning almost ensures success.
Well begun is half done.
96
Some things cannot be prevented.
What will be, will be.
97
What is good for a woman is good for a man.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
98
When visiting a foreign land, follow the customs of those who live there. When in an unknown situation, follow those who have experience.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
99
When something good or bad occurs, it usually is followed by more within a short period of time.
When it rains, it pours.
100
When a person of authority is away, those under the person's supervision will take advantage of their freedom.
When the cat's away, the mice will play.
101
The way to overcome adversity is to try harder.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
102
Why does life fade so quickly?
Where are the snows of yesteryears? Written by the French poet Francois Villon.
103
When you want something bad enough, you can find a way to get it.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
104
The very presence of a rumor means that something is afoot.
Where there's smoke, there's fire.
105
Never give up.
While there's life, there's hope.
106
Do this in memory of someone you revere.
Do this one for the Gipper. Attributed to Knute Rockne, coach of the Notre Dame football team. On his death bed, former player George Gipp told Rockne to "ask the boys to go out and win for me" when the game got tough. Made famous in the movie Knute Rockne, All American.
107
Stresses the importance of reaching a goal no matter what effort is required.
Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. Attributed to Football coach Vince Lombardi.
108
Desire leads to action.
The wish is farther of the deed.
109
A woman often works longer hours than a man.
A woman's work is never done. Comes from an old rhyme,
Man may work from sun too sun,
But woman's work is never done.
110
Intelligent people can take hints. They don't need everything explained to them.
A word to the wise is sufficient. The phrase "a word to the wise" usually accompanies a warning.
111
People usually take all the time allotted, usually more, to accomplish a task.
Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Often called Parkinson's law. Coined by British scholar C. Northcote Parkinson.
112
Ones luck or fortune changes.
The worm turns.
113
Fantasies and myths are important.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Originated in a 1897 newspaper editorial by Francis Pharcellus in reply to a girl who's friends had told her that Santa wasn't real.
114
You can win people to your side more easily by persuasion than by hostile confrontation.
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
115
You can show people the way to do things, but you can't force them to act.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
116
Being virtuous is not compatible with being greedy.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
117
People can't be forced into roles for which they aren't suited.
You can't fit a round peg in a square hole.
118
You can't recover the past.
You can't go home again. The title of a novel by Thomas Wolfe.
119
The things people want are often incompatible.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
120
It is impossible to make something excellent from poor material.
You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
121
We must give up or destroy something to gain something.
You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.
122
You can only get from people what they are willing to give.
You can't squeeze blood from a turnip.
123
We all must leave worldly wealth behind when we die.
You can't take it with you. Used as the title of a comedy by playwrights Moses Hart and George S. Kaufman.
124
People who are used to doing things in a particular way will not abandon their habits.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
125
Some processes are irreversible.
You can't unscramble an egg.
126
You made a decision and now must accept it's consequences.
You've made your bed, now lie in it. Used as a response to people who complain about the problems they have brought upon themselves.
