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Danish Proverbs (201-300)

When everyone minds his own business
the work is done.

Old oxen have stiff horns.

He knocks boldly at the door
who brings a welcome message.

A greedy mill grinds all kinds of corn.

Where money and counsel are wanting,
it is best not to make war.

He who comes first to the mill is first served.

The millstone that lies undermost also helps to grind.

He that has no money in his purse
should have fair words on his lips.

The miller is never so drunk that he forgets to take his dues.

Money saved is as good as money gained.

One word beforehand is better than ten afterwards.

If you cannot heal the wound,
do not tear it open.

What youth learns, age does not forget.

He who knows how to beg may
leave his money at home.

It takes a good many mice to kill a cat.

Might and courage require wit in their suite.

Misfortune seldom comes alone to the house.

When mistrust enters, love departs.

The mouse may find a hole, be the room ever so full of cats.

A good neighbor is better than a brother far off.

He who has bad neighbors is fain to praise himself.

He who would close another man's mouth should first tie up his own.

It is a bold mouse that makes her nest in the cat's ear.

Keep not two tongues in one mouth.

When the wound is healed the pain is forgotten.

What is sweet in the mouth is not always good in the stomach.

A foul mouth must be provided with a strong back.

The mouth often utters that which the head must answer for.

The mouse is knowing, but the cat more knowing.

The miser's bag is never full.

A child's back must be bent early.

It is safe to lend barley to him who has oats.

Advice after the mischief is like medicine after death.

Words once spoken cannot be wiped out with a sponge.

The aged in council, the young in action.

Silken tongue and hempen heart often go together.

The tooth often bites the tongue, and yet they keep together.

Age makes many a man whiter, but not better.

Age is a sorry travelling companion.

He who can't get bacon must be content with cabbage.

A silent man's words are not brought into court.

Empty barrels give the most sound.

Art and knowledge bring bread and honor.

Bad is never good until worse happens.

You cannot make a good archbishop of a rogue.

Art is art, even though unsuccessful.

No answer is also an answer.

Weighty work must be done with few words.

Where there is discipline there is virtue;
where there is peace there is plenty.

It is not all who turn their backs that flee.

A headless army fights badly.

Never repent a good action.

No is a good answer when given in time.

One piece of good advice is better than a bag full.

When anger blinds the eyes, truth disappears.

Almost kills no man.

It is a great art to laugh at your own misfortune.

Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent.

It is hard to labor with an empty belly.

Sight goes before hearsay.

All who snore are not asleep.

However high a bird may soar,
it seeks its food on earth.

You may get something off a bone,
but nothing off a stone.

Blame is the lazy man's wages.

Children and drunken men speak the truth.

Better come late to church than never.

Pretty children sing pretty songs.

He is most cheated who cheats himself.

Children are the riches of the poor.

An empty cellar makes an angry butler.

A naughty child must be roughly rocked.

Those who climb high, often have a fall.

Better coarse cloth than naked thighs.

It is better to buy dearly than to hunger direly.

No one knows the parson better than the clerk.

Little children, little sorrows; big children, great sorrows.

A pet child has many names.

Beauty carries its dower in its face.

A rich child often sits in a poor mother's lap.

The child who gets a stepmother also gets a stepfather.

A rickety chair will not long serve as a seat.

The cock often crows without a victory.

It is too late to cover the well when the child is drowned.

From children you must expect childish acts.

He who would have good cabbage, must pay its price.

When a cat and mouse agree, the farmer has no chance.

The dearer the child, the sharper must be the rod.

What is play to the strong is death to the weak.

It is dangerous to eat cherries with the great;
they throw the stones at your head.

Children are certain sorrow, but uncertain joy.

A small cloud may hide both sun and moon.

Better the child cry, than the mother sigh.

Truth's cloak is often lined with lies.

He who builds according to every man's advice
will have a crooked house.

He who takes the child by the hand
takes the mother by the heart.

It is poor comfort for one who has broken his leg
that another has broken his neck.

Care, and not fine stables, make a good horse.

Another man's burden is always light.

Young people must be taught, old ones be honored.

Chastise a good child, that it may not grow bad,
and a bad one, that it may not grow worse.

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