Proverbs and Sayings

As the people, so the proverb. Time passes away, but sayings remain.

19. > A bad workman always blames his tools. --> /English/
>> It is a bad workman that has a bad saw. --> /Russian/

20. > The bait hides the hook. --> /English/
>> One may make up a soft bed (for somebody), but still it will be hard to sleep in. --> /Russian/

21. > Barking dogs seldom bite. --> /English/
>> You needn't be afraid of a barking dog, but you should be afraid of a silent dog. --> /Russian/

22. > The best is often the enemy of the good. --> /English/
>> One does not look for good from good. --> /Russian/

23. > Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow. --> /English/
>> Better a dove on the plate than a wood grouse in the mating place. --> /Russian/

24. > Better bend the neck than bruise the forehead. --> /English/
>> You cannot break through a wall with your forehead. --> /Russian/

25. > Better late than never. --> /English/
>> Better late than never. --> /Russian/

26. > Better the foot slip than the tongue. --> /English/
>> Better to stumble than make a slip of tongue. --> /Russian/

27. > Between two stools you fall to the ground. --> /English/
>> One who sits between two chairs may easily fall down. --> /Russian/

28. > Beware of silent man and still water. --> /English/
>> Beware of a quiet dog and still water. --> /Russian/

29. > A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. --> /English/
>> A sparrow in the hand is better than a cock on the roof. --> /Russian/

30. > A bird may be known by its song. --> /English/
>> A bird may be known by its flight. --> /Russian/

31. > Birds of a feather flock together. --> /English/
>> One fisherman sees another from afar. --> /Russian/

32. > The bull must be taken by the horns. --> /English/
>> Take the bull by the horns. --> /Russian/

33. > The burnt child dreads the fire. --> /English/
>> Once burned by milk you will blow on cold water. --> /Russian/

34. > By doing nothing we learn to do ill. --> /English/
>> Idleness is the mother of all vices. --> /Russian/

35. > A cat in gloves catches no mice. --> /English/
>> You can not pull a fish out a pond without labor. --> /Russian/

36. > A cat may look at a king. --> /English/
>> No money is taken for just looking (at somebody or something).

37. > The cat shuts its eyes when it steals the cream. --> /English/
>> He would exclaim "Ah!" looking at himself. --> /Russian/

38. > The cat would eat fish and would not wet her feet. --> /English/
>> One would like to eat fish, but not like to get into the water. --> /Russian/

39. > A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. --> /English/
>> Where something is thin, that's where it tears. --> /Russian/

40. > A closed mouth catches no flies. --> /English/
>> A fly will not get into a closed mouth. --> /Russian/

41. > The cobbler should stick to his last. --> /English/
>> There will be trouble if the cobbler starts making pies. --> /Russian/

42. > A cock is bold on his own dunghill. --> /English/
>> Any sandpiper is great in his own swamp. --> /Russian/

43. > Constant dropping wears away a stone. --> /English/
>> A drop hollows out a stone. --> /Russian/

44. > The cow knows not the worth of her tail till she loses it. --> /English/
>> We do not care of what we have, but we cry when it is lost. --> /Russian/

45. > The cowl does not make the monk. --> /English/
>> Not everyone who has a cowl on is a monk. --> /Russian/

46. > Curiosity killed the cat. --> /English/
>> Curious Varvara's nose was torn off. --> /Russian/

47. > Curses like chickens come home to roost. --> /English/
>> Do not dig a hole for somebody else; you yourself will fall into it. --> /Russian/

48. > Curst cows have curt horns. --> /English/
>> God does not give horns to a cow that butts. --> /Russian/

49. > Cut your coat according to your cloth. --> /English/
>> Stretch your legs according to your clothes. --> /Russian/

50. > The darkest hours is that before the dawn. --> /English/
>> Stormy weather cannot stay all the time, the red sun will come out, too. --> /Russian/

51. > Desperate diseases call for desperate remedies. --> /English/
>> You need a sharp axe for a tough bough. --> /Russian/

52. > The devil is not so black as he is painted. --> /English/
>> The devil is not so frightful as he is painted.

53. > Diamond cut diamond. --> /English/
>> The scythe ran into a stone. --> /Russian/

54. > Discretion is the better part of valor. --> /English/
>> God takes care of the one who takes care of himself. --> /Russian/

55. > Dog doesn't eat dog. --> /English/
>> A wolf won't eat a wolf. --> /Russian/

56. > Do not cry till you are out of the wood. --> /English/
>> Do not praise yourself while going into battle; praise yourself coming out of battle. --> /Russian/

57. > Do not spur a willing horse. --> /English/
>> You do not need a whip to urge on an obedient horse. --> /Russian/

58. > Do not wash your dirty linen in public. --> /English/
>> Do not carry rubbish out of your hut. --> /Russian/

59. > Don't bite off more than you can chew. --> /English/
>> Cut down the tree that you are able to. --> /Russian/

60. > Don't carry coals to Newcastle. --> /English/
>> One does not go to Tula with one's own samovar. --> /Russian/

61. > Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. --> /English/
>> Chickens are counted in autumn. --> /Russian/

62. > Don't cross a bridge before you come to it. --> /English/
>> There will come a time when the seed will sprout. --> /Russian/

63. > Don't cut the bough you are standing on. --> /English/
>> Do not cut the bough you are sitting on. --> /Russian/

64. > Don't have thy cloak to make when it begins to rain. --> /English/
>> The peasant will not cross himself before it begins to thunder. --> /Russian/

65. > Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. --> /English/
>> Do not look at gift horse's mouth. --> /Russian/

66. > Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. --> /English/
>> Do not make an elephant out of fly. --> /Russian/

67. > Don't measure other people's corn by your own bushel. -->/English/
>> Do not measure (others) by your own arshin (=28 inches). --> /Russian/

68. > Don't play with fire. -->/English/
>> Don't play with fire - you will burn yourself. --> /Russian/

69. > Don't put the cart before the horse. --> /English/
>> Do not plant a tree with its root upward. --> /Russian/

70. > Don't strike a man when he is down. --> /English/
>> A man should not be struck when he is down. --> /Russian/

71. > Don't swap horses in the middle of the stream. --> /English/
>> You do not swap horses while crossing the ford. --> /Russian/

72. > Don't teach a fish to swim. --> /English/
>> Do not teach a pike to swim, a pike knows his own science. --> /Russian/

73. > Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs. --> /English/
>> Eggs cannot teach a hen. --> /Russian/

74. > A drowning man will clutch at a straw. --> /English/
>> A drowning man clutches at a straw. --> /Russian/

75. > The early bird catches the worm. --> /English/
>> God gives to those who get up early. --> /Russian/

76. > East or west, home is best. --> /English/
>> It is good to be visiting, but it is better at home. --> /Russian/

77. > Empty vessels make the greatest sound. --> /English/
>> An empty barrel makes the greatest sound. --> /Russian/

78. > The end crowns the work. --> /English/
>> The end is the crown of any work. --> /Russian/

79. > An Englishman's home is his castle. --> /English/
>> One is one's own master on one's own stove. --> /Russian/

80. > Every ass likes to hear himself bray. --> /English/
>> The tongue speaks, but the head doesn't know. --> /Russian/

81. > Every birds likes its own nest best. --> /English/
>> Every sandpiper praises its own swamp. --> /Russian/

82. > Every cloud has silver lining. --> /English/
>> There is no evil without good. --> /Russian/

83. > Every cook praises his own broth. --> /English/
>> Every merchant praises his own goods. --> /Russian/

84. > Every day is not Sunday. --> /English/
>> (Life is) not always Shrove-tide for a cat, there will also be Lent. --> /Russian/

85. > Every dog has his day. --> /English/
>> There will be a festival in our street too. --> /Russian/

86. > Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard. --> /English/
>> Every hut has its own rattles. --> /Russian/

87. > Every flow has its ebb. --> /English/
>> Good fortune and bad fortune travel in the same sledge. --> /Russian/

88. > Every man has a fool in his sleeve. --> /English/
>> There is enough simplicity in every wise man. --> /Russian/

89. > Every man is the architect of his own fortune. --> /English/
>> Every man is the blacksmith of his fortune. --> /Russian/

90. > Every medal has its reverse. --> /English/
>> Every medal has two sides. --> /Russian/

91. > Every tub must stand on its own bottom. --> /English/
>> Put your trust in God, but rely on yourself. --> /Russian/

92. > Everything is good in its season. --> /English/
>> Every vegetable has its season. --> /Russian/

93. > Fear has magnifying eyes. --> /English/
>> Fear has big eyes. --> /Russian/

94. > Fine words butter no parsnips. --> /English/ 
>> One does not feed a nightingale with fables. --> /Russian/

95. > First catch your hare, than cook him. --> /English/ 
>> One does not divide the bear's skin without killing the bear. --> /Russian/

96. >> first come, first served. --> /English/
>> The first visitor gets the first place and a pretty spoon. --> /Russian/

97. > First creep, then go. --> /English/
>> You cannot do everything all of a sudden. --> /Russian/

98. > A fool may ask more questions in a hour than a wise man can answer in seven years. --> /English/
>> One fool may ask more that ten clever men can answer. --> /Russian/

99. > A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out. --> /English/
>> A fool may throw a stone into the water, and ten clever men will not be able to pull it out. --> /Russian/

100. > Fools grow without watering. --> /English/
>> Fools are neither sown nor reaped, they grow by themselves. --> /Russian/

101. > Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. --> /English/
>> The law is not written for fools. --> /Russian/

102. > Forbidden fruit is sweetest. --> /English/
>> Forbidden fruit is sweet. --> /Russian/

103. > Four eyes see more than two. --> /English/
>> One wit is good, but two are better. --> /Russian/

104. > The fox may grow gray but never good. --> /English/
>> A wolf sheds its hair every year, but it remains gray. --> /Russian/

105. > A friend in need is a friend indeed. --> /English/
>> Friends become known when There is trouble. --> /Russian/

106. => Give never the wolf the wether (ram) to keep. --> /English/
=>> Do not let the goat into the kitchen-garden. --> /Russian/

107. => God helps those who help themselves. --> /English/
=>> God is (always) God, but you yourself should not be bad. --> /Russian/

108. => Grasp a nettle hard, and it will not sting you. --> /English/
=>> Where is courage there is victory. --> /Russian/

109. => Grasp all, lose all. --> /English/
=>> If you strive for a big thing you will not see a small one. --> /Russian/

110. => The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. --> /English/
=>> Life is better there, where we are not present. --> /Russian/

111. => Great oaks from little acorns grow. --> /English/
=>> Every bull was (once) a calf. --> /Russian/

112. => Half a loaf is better than no bread. --> /English/
=>> Better a titmouse in the hands than a crane in the sky. --> /Russian/

113. => Handsome is that handsome does. --> /English/ 
=>> Not he who has a fair face is good, but he who is fit for work. --> /Russian/

114. => Haste makes waste. --> /English/
=>> If you hurry you will make people laugh. --> /Russian/

115. => He that comes first to the hill may sit where he will. --> /English/
=>> He that came first was first to grind (flour). --> /Russian/

116. => He that fears every bush must never go a - birding. --> /English/
==> To be afraid of wolves means not to go walking in the woods. --> /Russian/

117. => He that has a great nose thinks everybody is speaking of it. --> /English/
=>> It is on a thief that the cap burns. --> /Russian/

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