Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry; The best things in life are free; The bigger they are, the harder they fall; The boy is father to the man; The bread never falls but on its buttered side; The child is the father of the man; The cobbler always wears the worst shoes; The comeback is greater than the setback
4. Slow down and practice mindfullness. Our digital world is full of constant noise and notifications, and multitasking has become the norm. Cats are great at living in the present and focusing on ...
Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us; Pages for logged out editors learn more
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
The reference to horses was first in James Carmichael's Proverbs in Scots printed in 1628, which included the lines: "And wishes were horses, pure [poor] men wald ride". [4] The first mention of beggars is in John Ray's Collection of English Proverbs in 1670, in the form "If wishes would bide, beggars would ride". [4]
What links here; Related changes; Upload file; Special pages; Permanent link; Page information; Cite this page; Get shortened URL; Download QR code
The conventional English translation first appeared in John Heywood's collection of Proverbs in 1546, crediting Erasmus. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable also credits Erasmus, and relates it to other Latin proverbs, "Planta quae saepius transfertus non coalescit" or "Saepius plantata arbor fructum profert exiguum", which mean that a frequently replanted plant or tree yields less fruit ...
Though the spirit of the proverb had been expressed previously, the modern saying first appeared in writing in Welsh writer and historian James Howell's Proverbs (1659). [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] It has often been included in subsequent collections of proverbs and sayings.