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English proverbs (I)

English proverbs (I)

Proverbs are popularly defined as short expressions of popular wisdom. Efforts to improve on the popular definition have not led to a more precise definition. The wisdom is in the form of a general observation about the world or a bit of advice, sometimes more nearly an attitude toward a situation.

I

  • I came, I saw, I conquered
    • Said by Julius Caesar, spoken as Veni, Vidi, Vici during a message to the Roman senate
  • I complained I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
  • I have the whole world against me, I show my back and the whole world is following me.
  • I know I know nothing
    • From Socrates defence speech
  • I think, therefore I am
    • Descartes' most famous statement (Cogito Ergo Sum in Latin)
  • I wants, don't gets.
    • An alternative used in the black British community is: "Ask it, Ask it don't get... Get it, get it don't want."
  • I was born on a Friday, but not last Friday.
    • Alternative: I wasn't born yesterday.
  • Idle hands are the devil's playthings. 'Alt.' The devil makes work for idle hands.
  • If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
  • If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.
  • If all else fails, try the obvious.
  • If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
    • Cf. William Edward Hickson's Try and Try again
      "Tis a lesson you should heed:
      Try, try, try again.
      If at first you don't succeed,
      Try, try, try again"
  • If God had wanted man to fly, he would have given him wings.
  • If in doubt go left.
  • If in doubt, pick "C"
  • If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    • Variation: If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
  • If it can't be cured, it must be endured.
    • From Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
  • If it's too good to be true, then it probably is.
  • If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing.
  • If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
  • If something can go wrong, it will.
    • Murphy's Law
  • If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.
    • "If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain", Answers.com
  • If the shoe fits, wear it.
  • If wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets.
  • If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
  • If you believe that dreams can come true be prepared for the occasional nightmare.
  • If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
    • Alternatively: You get what you pay for
  • If you buy quality, you only cry once.
  • If you can't be good, be careful.
  • If you can't be good, be good at it.
  • If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.
  • If you can't beat them, join them.
  • If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
  • If you cross your bridges before you come to them, you will have to pay the toll twice.
  • If you don't buy a ticket, you can't win the raffle.
  • If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all
  • If you don't know where you're going, any train will get you there.
  • If you fake it, you can't make it.
  • If you fall off a cliff, you might as well try to fly. After all, you got nothing to lose.
  • If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it.
  • If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
  • If you snooze you lose
  • If you trust before you try, you may repent before you die. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721
  • If you want a thing done right, do it yourself.
  • If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen.
  • If you want to judge a man's character, give him power.
  • If you were born to be shot, you'll never be hanged.
  • If you're in a hole, stop digging.
  • If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
  • If you're prepared to be confused, be prepared for a sore bum
  • Ignorance is bliss.
    • Common mal-shortening of "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.
    • Thomas Gray, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College"
    • The more you know, you more you want to know / The more you learn about things, the more you learn about your ignorance of things
  • Impossible itself says I'm Possible
  • In for a penny, in for a pound.
    • Alternate version: In for a dime, in for a dollar.
  • In one ear and out the other.
    • Cf. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: "One eare it heard, at the other out it went"
  • In order to get where you want to go, you first have to leave where you are.
    • From Sandy Elsberg's Bread Winner, Bread Baker; Upline Press, Charlottesville, VA; 1977, p. 80
  • In the end, a man's motives are second to his accomplishments.
  • In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
  • In the law there are no small cases, only small lawyers.
    • Ben Harlow
  • In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity
    • Emerson
  • In the mind of thieves the moon is always shining.
    • Marathi proverb, meaning: dishonest persons have to be always on the alert to avoid getting caught.
  • Infatuations are a plenty. Love is rare. - Pashi
  • Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
    • Alternatively "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results"
  • Is the Pope a Catholic?
    • Do bears shit in the woods?
    • Used in response to what is considered to be a question with an extremely obvious answer.
  • It ain't over till the fat lady sings.
    • Variation: Church ain't over until the fat lady sings.
    • Attributed as an old Southern saying in Smith & Smith, Southern Words and Sayings (1976), according to Quinion, Michael (21 August 1999). "It Ain't Over Till the Fat Lady Sings". World Wide Words. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
  • It's a blessing in disguise.
  • It's a cracked pitcher that goes longest to the well.
  • It's a good horse that never stumbles.
  • It's a long lane that has no turning.
  • It's a poor job that can't stand at least one supervisor.
  • It's always darkest before the dawn
  • It's always the baker's children who have no bread.
  • It's an ill wind that blows no good.
  • It's better to be safe than sorry.
  • It's better to be silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.
  • It is better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees.
  • It's better to give than to receive.
  • It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
  • It's better to have something you don't need than to need something you don't have.
  • It's better to want something you can't have than have something you don't want.
  • It's cheaper to keep her.
  • It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
    • Attributed to Grace Hopper
  • It's easy to be wise after the event.
  • It's never too late to mend.
  • It's no use crying over spilt milk.
  • It's not over till it's over.
    • Yogi Berra
    • Often attributed to sportscaster Dan Cook (1978)
  • It is not so much the gift that is given but the way in which the gift is driven.
  • It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean.
  • It's often a person's mouth broke their nose.
    • Meaning: People talk themselves into trouble.
  • It's the early bird that gets the worm.
  • It's the empty can that makes the most noise.
  • It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.
  • It is through the small things we do that we learn, not the big things
  • It never rains, but it pours.
    • Alternatively: When it rains, it pours.
  • It pays to pay attention.
    • Rewards come to those who are attentive, or wary of events in the past/present/future.
  • It takes all sorts to make a world.
    • Alternatively: It takes all sorts to make the world go round.
    • Alternatively: It takes all kinds to make the world go round.
  • It takes both rain and sunshine to make rainbows
    • It takes good and bad to make good things in the future, or make them stand out.
  • It takes two to lie — one to lie and one to listen.
  • It takes two to make a quarrel.
  • It takes two to tango.

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