Pages

Estonian Proverbs (91)

One can neither put beauty into the pot,
nor loveliness into the kettle.

If you have stepped over the dog,
step over its tail too.

A fatherless child is half an orphan;
a motherless child is a whole one.

Eggs that roll far from the nest often perish.

The cork is always bigger than the mouth of the bottle.

A much-used plough shines; stagnant waters stink.

One family always sings one song.

If one has eaten enough, bread becomes tasteless.

The late bird shakes its wings
the early one wipes its bill.

If you want to lose your friend, grant him a loan.

A proverb does not tell a lie;
an empty pipe does not burn.

Every day has its yoke; every hour its work.

The fish comes to the rod of him who waits.

The master's eye does more than
the hands of two servants.

Where there is no fear, there is no pity.

Wasting time is robbing oneself.

If you want all the world to know, tell your wife.

Diseases come on courier's horses,
but go away on tired oxen.

Calamity will teach.

Sour apples must also be eaten.

A fir cone does not fall far from the tree.

Like pot, like lid.

Don't boil eggs until the hen has laid them.

No mill will grind wet corn.

A good word always falls on a friendly spot.

An empty belly is the best cook.

A good deed bears interest.

When death comes, the rich man has no money,
the poor man no debt.

The mouth is the interpreter of the heart.

He who flatters the mother will hug the daughter.

A name doesn't harm a man
if a man doesn't harm the name.

Drive slowly, you will get farther.

Even a golden bed does not help a sick person.

An old broom still sweeps the room.

Guests and fish will get old on the third day.

The mistakes of others are good teachers.

Misfortune does not come with a bell on its neck.

Patience makes all hardships light.

Learn your way from old people.

Where the ox is slaughtered,
there the blood is sprinkled.

Do not govern your wife with your eyes but with your ears.

Profit and loss are twin brothers.

The rich have money; the poor children.

An old road is known.

One cannot make soup out of beauty.

Hens that cackle much lay few eggs.

The home is the wife's world;
the world is the man's home.

The stomach never becomes full with licking.

Suffering is bitter, but its fruits are sweet.

Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.

Who suffers lives long.

Time heals a wound, but leaves a scar.

Morning time, golden time.

The jug goes to the well until it gets broken;
the wolf goes to the herd until he gets killed.

Time helps even the doctor.

A fleshy tongue cuts off the bony neck.

The wedge must go where the axe drives.

Like jug, like lid.

Justice knows no friendship.

A wife spoils a man's life.

Strawberries ripen sooner in a low wood than in a high one.

The stomach never becomes full with licking.

Love yourself, then you will have no rivals.

If you have stepped over the dog, step over its tail too.

You will never taste sweetness if you do not like bitterness.

Big hole, big stopper.

Live with a wolf, howl like a wolf.

Every work stands in awe of the master.

A good word always falls on a friendly spot.

Injustice has no price.

Little kettles soon boil over.

The hard worker and good health are always friends.

A beautiful woman is paradise for the eye,
the soul's hell, and purgatory for the purse.

Winter pulls the mittens out of your pocket.

The work praises the master.

He who digs a pit for another
should take his own measure.

Falsehood is the beginning of theft.

A good deed is written on snow.

What blossoms beautifully, withers fast.

Better a crease in the shoe than a blister on the toe.

Man is a child twice.

A lawyer's ink writes nothing
until you have thrown silver into it.

Large household, thin soup.

The silken coat also has fleas.

Manure is the farmer's gold.

Where the lamb is sheared, there is the wool.

Man learns till his death.

When a vessel is full it runs over.

He to whom you give much will want more.

A girl without a needle is like a cat without a claw.

To live is to fight.

A lock is a security against animals;
nothing holds against man.

❖❖❖