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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:
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]
German – Wenn Schweine fliegen können! is identical with the English saying "when pigs fly", although the older proverb Wenn Schweine Flügel hätten, wäre alles möglich ("if pigs had wings, everything would be possible") is in more common use, often modified on the second part to something impossible, like "if pigs had wings, even your ...
"No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat." (Source: From a speech in a meeting of the Secretariat, actually a Sichuan proverb) 实事求是。 Shí shì qiú shì Seek truth from facts (Actually coined by Mao Zedong, but never really effectively used until Deng's time. This is a slogan ...
Pages in category "English proverbs" The following 31 pages are in this category, out of 31 total. ... Curiosity killed the cat; D. The devil is in the details;
The period of the British colonisation of India may have introduced this concept, and hence the phrase to the English language. [6] In French-language, similar meaning is expressed as "Jeter un pavé dans la mare" or "Lancer un pavé dans la mare", ("Throwing a cobblestone in the pond"). It illustrates a provocation disrupting a situation that ...
However, unlike the examples given above in English, all of which are anti-proverbs, Tatira's examples are standard proverbs. Where the English proverbs above are meant to make a potential customer smile, in one of the Zimbabwean examples "both the content of the proverb and the fact that it is phrased as a proverb secure the idea of a secure ...
The original non-facetious meaning was probably to place or settle a bet on a race, perhaps accompanied by a wink. In the UK the phrase is generally used nowadays as a polite way of saying, "I am going out [or "have been out"], but don't ask where", often with the facetious implication that you are about to be, or have been, up to no good.