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A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language.
A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. [1] [2] In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
Pages in category "English proverbs" The following 31 pages are in this category, out of 31 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. A.
There is a reference to the many things that can intervene between cup and lip already in an iambic verse by Lycophron (3rd century BC). [citation needed] Erasmus noted in his Adagia that the Greek and Latin versions of the proverb had been recorded by the Carthaginian grammarian Sulpicius Apollinaris (fl. 2nd century C.E.), as quoted in Aulus Gellius's Attic Nights: [1] " πολλὰ ...
Birds "of a feather" (in this case red-winged blackbirds) exhibiting flocking behavior, source of the idiom. Birds of a feather flock together is an English proverb. The meaning is that beings (typically humans) of similar type, interest, personality, character, or other distinctive attribute tend to mutually associate.
Give a dog a bad name and hang him is an English proverb. Its meaning is that if a person's reputation has been besmirched, then he will suffer difficulty and hardship. A similar proverb is he that has an ill name is half hanged. The proverb dates back to the 18th century or before.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the proverb is in one of Aesop’s Fables, “The Crow and the Pitcher” from the mid 6th century BCE. Plato's Republic says "our need will be the real creator", [5] which Jowett's 1894 translation rendered loosely as "The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention."
The proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds." For those unfamiliar with it, the proverb may sound confusing due to the ambiguity of the word 'have', which can mean 'keep' or 'to have in one's possession', but which can also be used as a synonym for 'eat' (e.g. 'to ...