Robert Christy, comp. Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages. 1887.

Maid

A maid oft seen and a gown oft worn are dis-esteemed and held in scorn.

A maid that laughs is half taken.

A maid that talketh yieldeth.

A maiden’s heart is a dark forest.Russian.

A simple maiden in her flower is worth a hundred coats-of-arms.Tennyson.

As spiteful as an old maid.

All meat is to be eaten, all maids to be wed.

For the virtuous maiden employment is enjoyment.Don Quixote.

Hackney mistress, hackney maid.

He must have keen eyes that would know a maid at sight.German.

Maidens, like moths, are ever caught by glare,
And mammon wins his way where seraphs might despair.Byron.

Maids say nay and take.

Maids want nothing but husbands, and when they have them they want everything.

Maidens say no and mean yes.German.

Maidens should be mild and meek,
Swift to hear and slow to speak.

Maidens must be seen and not heard.

Maidens must be mum till they’re married an’ they may burn kirks.

Old maids lead apes in hell.

Once a housemaid, never a lady.

Poor maids have more lovers than husbands.John Webster.

Show me a man without a spot, and I’ll show you a maid without a fault.

The chariest maid is prodigal enough
If she unmask her beauty to the moon.Shakespeare.

The maid is such as she was bred, and tow as it was spun.Spanish.

The maid that modestly conceals her beauty, while she hides reveals.E. Moore.

The virtuous maid and the broken leg must stay at home.Don Quixote.

The worst stave is a maid unbestowed.

To win the mistress first bribe the maid.Terence.

When maidens sue, men live like gods.

When the maid leaves the door open the cat’s in fault.

While the tall maid is stooping, the little one hath swept the house.

You must judge a maiden at the kneading trough and not in a dance.Danish.