English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases

Collected from the Most Authentic Sources Alphabetically Arranged and Annotated with Much Matter Not Previously Published

Compiled by William Carew Hazlitt

These 10,764 entries feature explanation of the sometimes hidden meanings of folk wisdom—from the ancient to the baudy—repeated unwittingly in contemporary speech.

Bibliographic Record Preface Introduction

Contents

Abbreviations

LONDON: REEVES AND TURNER, 1907
NEW YORK: BARTLEBY.COM, 2012

A bad bush	to	A dull ass
A dumb man	to	A guilty conscience
A hair of the dog	to	A man, like
A man may be	to	A small spark
A smiling boy	to	After this leaf
Against God’s wrath	to	An atheist
An early winter	to	As cold as
As comely as	to	As nimble as
As old as	to	At length
At marriages	to	Better lost
Better master	to	Call not
Cambridgeshire	to	Creditors have
Credulity thinks	to	Drumming is not
Drunk as	to	Everything new
Evil comes	to	Follow truth
Folly and learning	to	Goats
God bless	to	Happy men
Hard fare	to	He has most
He has none	to	He loathes
He looks as	to	He that drinks
He that eats	to	He that loseth
He that loves	to	He wants
He warms	to	Help yourself
Hen pen	to	I love you
I may see	to	If the wise
If there be	to	In hugger-mugger
In little	to	It is evil
It is for	to	Justices
Ka me	to	Lightly come
Like a barber’s	to	Lost with
Love and a cough	to	Memory
Men apt	to	Necessity is
Neck and crop	to	No wonder
Noble housekeepers	to	Once warned
One and none	to	Pigeons’ milk
Pigs fly	to	Reason teaches
Rebuke with	to	She will stay
Shear sheep	to	Spin not
Spit in his mouth	to	That grief
That horse	to	The deeper
The devil	to	The greatest wealth
The green new broom	to	The nurse’s tongue
The offspring	to	The wise men
The wit of you	to	They keep
They love	to	’Tis fortune
’Tis God	to	To gain
To get a cup	to	To miss
To-morrow-come-never	to	To think
To throw pearls	to	Usurers
Vain-glory	to	What the heart
What tutor	to	When you ride
Where a man	to	Wild and stout
Wilful waste	to	You cast your net
You catch birds	to	You would spy