Absence makes the heart fonder: people often feel more affectionate toward each other when they are apart
Actions speak louder than words: people’s actions are more convincing than their words are
After the feast comes the reckoning: people must always pay the price of their excesses
All that glitters is not gold: some things are not as valuable as they appear to be
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An apple a day keeps the doctor away: eating an apple every day helps a person to stay healthy
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: children take after their parents
Bad news travels fast: reports of problems and misfortune spread quickly
Barking dogs seldom bite: people who threaten others usually do not hurt them
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: what seems ordinary or ugly to one person might seem beautiful to another
Beggars can’t be choosers: when a person has nothing, he or she must accept whatever help is offered
The best things in life are free: the things that give a person the most happiness don’t cost anything
Better a live coward than a dead hero: it’s better to run from a life-threatening situation than to fight and risk being killed
Better late than never: it’s better to do sth late than not to do at all
Better safe than sorry: it is better to choose a safe course of action than a risky one that could lead to regrets
The bigger they are, the harder they fall: the more important someone is, the more severe are the consequences of his or her failure
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: sth you already have is better than sth you might get
Birds of a feather flock together: people of the same type seem to gather together
Blood is thicker than water: members of the same family share stronger ties with each other than they do with others
Charity begins at home: one should take care of one’s own family, friends or fellow citizens before helping other people
Clothes don not make the man: a person should not be judged by the clothes he or she wears
Curiosity killed the cat: it is dangerous to be curious
Do as I say, not as I do: follow my advice, but don’t follow my example
Don’t bite off more than you can chew: don’t assume more responsibility than you can handle; don’t be overconfident
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you: don’t hurt someone who takes care of you
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched: don’t plan on the successful resultd of sth until those results actually occur
Don’t cry over spilt milk: don’t grieve about having done sth that cannot be undone
Don’t judge a book by its cover: don’t form an opinion about sth based on appearance alone
Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked in his boots: don’t criticize a person until you’ve tried to do the things he does
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth: don’t complain about sth that is given to you
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: don’t risk losing everything at once
Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today: don’t unnecessarily postpone doing sth
Don’t put the cart before the horse: don’t do things in the wrong order
Familiarity breeds contempt: when you know people well you will discover their weaknesses and you may come to scorn them
The first step is always the hardest: the most difficult part of accomplishing sth is getting started
A fool and his money are soon parted: a foolish person quickly spends his or her money on worthless things
Forewarned is forearmed: being warned about sth before it happens allows a person to prepare for it
A friend in need is a friend indeed: a true friend will help you in a time of trouble
A friend who shares is a friend who cares: a true friend unselfishly shares what he or she has
Good things come in small packages: small containers can hold objects of great value
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence: another place or situation always appears to be better than your own
Haste makes waste: when one hurries too much, one is likely to do a poor job and have to waste time doing it over
He who hesitates is lost: a person who doesn’t act decisively is unlikely to succeed
He who laughs last, laughs best: the person who succeeds in making the last move has the most fun
Hindsight is better than foresight: people see and understand things more clearly after they’ve happened than before they’ve happened
If you can’t beat them, join them: if you can’t defeat your opponents, join forces with them
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen: if you can’t tolerate the pressures of a particular situation, remove yourself from that situation
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: trying to be like someone is the most genuine way of praising that person
In unity, there is strength: a group of people with the same goals can accomplish more than individuals can
It never rains but it pours: good and bad things tend to happen in groups
It takes two to tango: when two people work as a team, they are both responsible for the team’s successes and failures
Leave well enough alone: don’t try to improve sth that is already satisfactory
A leopard cannot change his spots: a person cannot change his or her basic character once it has been formed
Lightning never strikes twice in the same place: the same misfortune won’t happen twice to the same person
Look before you leap: consider all aspects of a situation before you take any action
Love is blind: one sees no faults in the person one loves
Love makes the world go around: when people show respect and consideration for one another, the world is a better place
Make hay while the sun shines: take advantage of an opportunity to do sth
Man does not live by bread alone: people’s psychological needs as well as their physical needs must be satisfied if they are to live
A man is known by the company he keeps: a person is believed to be like the people with whom he or she spends time
Might makes right: the stronger of two opponents will always control the situation
Misery loves company: unhappy people often get satisfaction from having others share their misery
A miss is as good as a mile: losing by a narrow margin is no different than losing by a wide margin
Money does not grow on trees: money is not easily obtained
Necessity is the mother of invention: most inventions are created to solve a problem
No news is good news: if one does not hear the outcome of a situation, that outcome must be positive
No pain, no gain: nothing can be accomplished without effort
Nothing hurts like the truth: it is painful to discover an unpleasant truth about oneself
Nothing ventured, nothing gained: you can’t achieve anything if you don’t try
Old habits die hard: it is very difficult to change an established pattern of behaviour
One good turn deserves another: a favor should be repaid with another favor
One man’s gravy is another man’s poison: what is pleasing to one person may not be pleasing to another
One swallow does not a summer make: one piece of evidence is not enough to prove sth
The pen is mightier than the sword: the written word is more powerful than physical force
Possession is nine-tenths of the law: the person who possesses sth has the strongest claim to owning it
Practice makes perfect: doing sth many times improves one’s skill at it
The proof of the pudding is in the eating: the only way to judge sth is to try it
The road to hell paved with good intensions: good intentions don’t always lead to good actions
Rome wasn’t built in a day: important things do not happen overnight
The spirit is willing, but the fresh is weak: a person’s body is not always as strong as his or her mind
The squeaking wheel gets the oil: those who complain the loudest get the most attention
Strike while the iron is hot: act at the best possible time
There is no honor among thieves: one dishonest person cannot trust another
There’s more than one way to skin a cat: there are many ways to achieve a goal
There’s no fool like an old fool: a foolish act seems even more foolish when performed by an older person, who should have a lot of wisdom
There’s no place like home: a person is happiest with his or her family and friends
Too many chiefs, not enough Indians: too many people are giving orders, and not enough people are following orders
Too many cooks spoil the broth: too many people trying to take care of sth can ruin it
Two heads are better than one: two people working together can solve a problem quicker and better than a person working alone
Two’s company, but there’s a crowd: couples often enjoy their privacy and dislike having a third person around
Variety is the spice of life: differences and changes make life enjoyable
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach: the way to gain a man’s love is by preparing food that he enjoys
when the cat’s away the mice will play: some people will misbehave when they are not being watched
where there’s smoke, there’s fire: when there is evidence of a problem, there probably is a problem
you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink: you can propose a course of action to someone, but you can’t force that person to accept it
you can’t have your cake and eat it too: you can’t enjoy the advantages of two conflicting activities at once
you can’t teach an old dog new tricks: elderly people can’t change their behavior or learn anything new
you have to take the good with the bad: you must accept disappointment along with success
you reap what you sow: the amount of effort you put into sth determines how much you will get out of it
you’re never too old to learn: a person can learn at any age