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Dutch Proverbs (001-100)

It is a poor mouse that has but one hole.

Might is not right.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Necessity breaks iron.

In time a mouse will gnaw through a cable.

It is better to blow than burn your mouth.

It is good sailing with wind and tide.

When apes climb high, they show their naked rumps.

Don't sell the bearskin before the bear is dead.

One misfortune brings on another.

The higher the mountain the lower the vale,
the taller the tree the harder the fall.

Arms, women, and books should be looked at daily.

The art is not in making money, but in keeping it.

A soft answer turns away wrath.

Better lose the anchor than the whole ship.

The ass and the driver never think alike.

Bashfulness is of no use to the needy.

Asses carry the oats and horses eat them.

An ape, a priest, and a louse,
are three devils in one house.

An ass does not hit himself twice against the same stone.

Better be carried by an ass than thrown by a horse.

Behind every mountain lies a vale.

The nobler the tree, the more pliant the twig.

One bird in the hand is better than two flying.

The absent always bear the blame.

Great boast, little roast.

From small beginnings come great things.

An indulgent mother makes a sluttish daughter.

He who slanders his neighbor makes a rod for himself.

So begun, so done.

A bird never flew so high but it had
to come to the ground for food.

A hundred bakers, a hundred millers,
and a hundred tailors are three hundred thieves.

One nail drives in another.

Necessity know no law.

Young twigs may be bent, but not old trees.

Beauty is but dross if honesty be lost.

Better a bird in the hand than ten in the air.

The first in the boat has the choice of oars.

Borrowing brings care.

The bow must not be always bent.

Strain not your bow beyond its bent, lest it break.

A lazy boy and a warm bed are difficult to part.

Good things require time.

A word is enough to the wise.

Hasty questions require slow answers.

Who has no thirst has no business at the fountain.

Fine words don't fill the belly.

Half a word to the wise is enough.

A runaway monk never speaks well of his convent.

Old birds are not caught with cats.

When things go well it is easy to advise.

Don't sell the skin till you've caught the bear.

One beats the bush and the other catches the bird.

Shame last longer than poverty.

A sad bride males a glad wife.

When the cat's away, it is jubilee with the mice.

Money rules the world.

Fair money can cover much that's foul.

That which burns you not, cool not.

When the calf is drowned they cover the well.

The worse the carpenter, the more the chips.

No one is wise in his own affairs.

Young cats will mouse, young apes will louse.

By night all cats are grey.

To every fool his cap.

When many shepherds tend the sheep,
they ever so much longer sleep.

When the mouse has had its fill, the meal turns bitter.

All cocks must have a comb.

Sow not money on the sea lest it sink.

All clouds do not rain.

He that has a choice has trouble.

A cock is valiant on his own dunghill.

Two cocks in one house, a cat and a mouse,
an old man and a young wife, are always in strife.

Little is done where many command.

Good company makes short miles.

An old coachman loves the crack of the whip.

Offer a clown your finger, and he'll take your fist.

A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit.

Of listening children have your fears,
for little pitchers have great ears.

Opportunity makes desire.

No office so humble but it is better than nothing.

Tell me the company you keep, and I'll tell you what you are.

He that chases another does not sit still himself.

In prosperity caution, in adversity patience.

Caution is the parent of delicate beer glasses.

Coffee has two virtues, it is wet and warm.

From trivial things great contests oft arise.

Who chastises his child will be honored by him;
who chastises it not will be shamed.

The best cause requires a good pleader.

A smart coat is a good letter of introduction.

When the cook and the steward fall
out we hear who stole the butter.

Every one must row with the oars he has.

A penny spared is better than a florin gained.

Handsome apples are sometimes sour.

Better beg than steal.

Blossoms are not fruits.

Better belly burst than good victuals spoil.

Once is no custom.

Too many cooks oversalt the porridge.

What costs nothing is worth nothing.

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