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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:
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.
Pages for logged out editors learn more. Contributions; Talk; List of English proverbs
In addition, proverbs may still be used in languages which were once more widely known in a society, but are now no longer so widely known. For example, English speakers use some non-English proverbs that are drawn from languages that used to be widely understood by the educated class, e.g. "C'est la vie" from French and "Carpe diem" from Latin.
[1]: 239 Similar proverbs in English include "Still waters run deep" and "Empty vessels make the most sound." [2] There have been like proverbs in other languages, for example the Talmudic [1]: 241 proverb in the Aramaic language, "if a word be worth one shekel, silence is worth two", which was translated into English in the 17th century.
However, although some English translations use the proverb, [14] what is in the original text is a different, though similar, proverb: "Del dicho al hecho hay gran trecho" (More easily said than done). [15] The modern form of the English proverb where the word slip is used to rhyme with lip developed in the late 18th and early 19th century. [16]
The exact origin of this proverb is unknown and several variations exist. The first full version of the phrase appeared in a London newspaper in 1828 where it was referred to as a Portuguese proverb. [8] The earliest known text resembling this phrase occurs in Virgil's Aeneid: "facilis descensus Averno (the descent to hell is easy)". [9]
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] The first versions with close to today's wording was in James Kelly's Scottish Proverbs, Collected and Arranged in 1721, with the wording "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride". [4]