Proverb Examples from around the world
Proverbs Starting with letter B - part 2
Full list:
A
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
B
2
3
4
C
2
D
2
3
E
2
3
4
F
2
3
G
2
H
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
J
K
L
2
M
2
3
N
2
3
4
O
2
3
4
P
2
Q
R
S
2
3
T
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
U
V
W
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Y
2
Z
Better go round than be drowned.
Better go than send.
Better go to heaven in rags than to hell in embroidery.
Better go without medicine than call in an unskilled physician.
Better half a donkey than half a camel.
Better half a loaf than none at all.
Better half an egg than empty shells.
Better half hanged than ill married.
Better have a bad mule than be your own ass.
Better have a dog for your friend than your enemy.
Better have an egg to-day than a hen to-morrow.
Better have one bee than a host of flies.
Better have to give than have to beg.
Better ice that melts than fire that extinguishes.
Better in an old carriage than in a new ship.
Better in the grave than be a slave.
Better is a leap over the ditch than the entreaties of good men.
Better is an enemy to good.
Better is an enemy to well.
Better is better.
Better is my neighbour's hen than mine.
Better is one 'Take this,' than two 'I-will-give-you.'.
Better is one bird in the hand than ten in the bush.
Better is rule than rent.
Better is the branch that bends, than the branch that breaks.
Better is the enemy of good.
Better is the evil known than the good which is yet to know.
Better is the smoke of my own house than the fire of another's.
Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace.
Better just repair the gutter than the whole house.
Better keep peace than make peace.
Better keep, than have to beg.
Better lady in a cottage than serving-woman in a castle.
Better late than never.
Better late then never.
Better lie than gossip.
Better little than too little.
Better lose a supper than have a hundred physicians.
Better lose that lose more.
Better lose the anchor than the whole ship.
Better lose the saddle than the horse.
Better lose the wool than the sheep.
Better lose your labour than your time in idleness.
Better make a short circuit than to wet your hose.
Better make profit out of manure than losses with musk.
Better mine than ours.
Better my own cottage than the palace of another.
Better no law, than law not enforced.
Better no spoon than no soup.
Better on the heath with an old cart that at sea in a new ship.
Better once in heaven than ten times at the gate.
Better once than never.
Better one 'Take this,' than two 'I will give you.'.
Better one bird in the hand than ten in the sky.
Better one cow in peace than seven in trouble.
Better one day a man than ten days a woman.
Better one eye-witness than ten hearsay witnesses.
Better one good thing that is than two good things that were.
Better one hazel grouse in the bag, than ten on the branch.
Better one house spoiled than two.
Better one living word than a hundred dead ones.
Better one poor horse than an empty stall.
Better one true friend than a hundred relatives.
Better one-eyed than blind.
Better one-eyed than stone blind.
Better pain in your purse than in your heart.
Better play at small game than stand out.
Better poor on land than rich at sea.
Better poor on land that rich at sea.
Better poor with honor than rich with shame.
Better poor with honour than rich with shame.
Better rags than nakedness.
Better reap two day too soon than one too late.
Better reap two days early than one day late.
Better reap two days too soon than one too late.
Better repair the gutter than the whole house.
Better retreat in honor than advance in disgrace.
Better return half way than lose yourself.
Better ride a good horse for a year than an mule all your life.
Better ride a good horse for a year, than an mule all your life.
Better ruined ten times than dead once.
Better rule in hell, than serve in heaven.
Better safe than sorry.
Better sit idle than work for naught.
Better slip with the foot than with the tongue.
Better something on the arm than all in the stomach.
Better something than nothing at all.
Better spare at the brim that at the bottom.
Better squinting than blind.
Better straw, than nothing.
Better stretch your hand than your neck.
Better suffer a known evil than change for uncertain good.
Better suffer for the truth than proper in a falsehood.
Better suffer for truth, than prosper by falsehood.
Better take time.
Better ten people hurt than one dead.
Better ten times ill than one time dead.
Better than a banquet somewhere else is a good cup of tea and a bowl of rice at home.
Better than the ignorant are those who read books; better still are those who retain what they read; even better are those who understand it; the best of all are those who go to work.
Better the best of the worst than the worst of the best.
Better the child cry than the old man.
Better the child cry, than the mother sigh.
Better the cold blast of winter than the hot breath of a pursuing elephant.
Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps.
Better the death of the eyes than the death of the heart.
Better the devil you know (than the one you don't).
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
Better the first of its kind than the last.
Better the head of a village than the tail of a town.
Better the little that is given, than the plentiful that is promised.
Better the second husband of a widow than the first.
Better there should be too much than too little.
Better to ask a question than to remain ignorant.
Better to ask than go astray.
Better to ask twice than to lose your way once.
Better to be a cuckold and not know it than to not be one and everybody say so.
Better to be a dog in peacetime that a man in wartime.
Better to be a free bird than a captive king.
Better to be a free dog than a caged lion.
Better to be a poor woman than the slave of the rich.
Better to be an ant's head than a lion's tail.
Better to be envied than pitied.
Better to be guilty in the eyes of men than in the eyes of God.
Better to be known as a sinner than a hypocrite.
Better to be off with the old love before we be on with the new.
Better to be paying the baker than the chemist.
Better to be queen for an hour than a countess for life.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Better to be squinting than blind.
Better to be the lowest in your own land than a Sultan in a foreign land.
Better to be tossed about than to sink.
Better to be watched by a wild animal than a nosey man.
Better to bend than break.
Better to blush once than pale a hundred times.
Better to dam the brook than the creek.
Better to deny at once, than to promise long.
Better to die fighting man, how to spend time fleeing', meaning 'Better to die fighting, than live fleeing.' often quoted as 'Better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees.
Better to die than to live on with a bad reputation.
Better to die upright than to live on your knees.
Better to do a kindness near home than go far away to burn incense.
Better to do than to say.
Better to drink the milk than to eat the cow.
Better to eat bread in peace, then cake amid turmoil.
Better to fall from the window than the roof.
Better to flee than fight poorly.
Better to go blind than to lose heart.
Better to go to bed hungry than to wake up in debt.
Better to go to bed supperless than run in debt.
Better to have a diamond with a few small flaws than a rock that is perfect.
Better to have a friend on the road than gold and silver in your purse.
Better to have a handful of might than a sack of justice.
Better to have bread and an onion with peace than stuffed fowl with strife.
Better to have friends in the marketplace than money in your coffers.
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Better to have one thousand enemies outside the house than to have one single enemy inside it.
Better to have something yourself, than to beg of your sister.
Better to hear curses than to be pitied.
Better to kiss an ugly woman than to lick yourself.
Better to lick the knife than to give up the spoon.
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
Better to lose a little money than a little friendship.
Better to lose a minute in your life than your life in a minute.
Better to lose the wool than the sheep.
Better to marry a neighbor than a stranger.
Better to prevent than to cure.
Better to prevent than to have to cure.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Better to satisfy the body than to tarnish the soul.
Better to see the face than to hear the name.
Better to sell it with regret than to keep it.
Better to sell with regret than to keep with regret.
Better to sit all night than to go to bed with a dragon.
Better to stumble once than be always tottering.
Better to stumble over your toe than to stumble over your tongue.
Better to turn back than to lose your way.
Better to wash an old kimono than borrow a new one.
Better to wear out than rust out.
Better to write down something one time than to read something ten times.
Better twice measured than once wrong.
Better twice remembered than once forgotten.
Better visit hell in your lifetime than after you're dead.
Better walk before a hen than behind an ox.
Better walk on wooden legs, than be carried on a wooden bier.
Better warn than be warned.
Better weak beer than an empty cask.
Better wear out shoes than sheets.
Better wed over the mixen than over the moor.
Better when birds sing than where irons ring.
Better whole than patched in gold.
Better wise language than well combed hair.
Better your enemy who you recognize than a dark friend.
Better your own bread than another's roast.
Better your own cod than another's duck.
Better your own copper than another man's gold.
Better, There he goes, than There he hangs.
Between brothers, two witnesses and a notary.
Between doing and saying lies the sea.
Between evil tongues and evil ears, there is nothing to choose.
Between hammer and anvil.
Between husband and wife, one doesn't put the spoon.
Between man and woman there is little difference, but vive la difference.
Between neighbours' gardens a hedge is not amiss.
Between promising and giving a man should marry his daughter.
Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out.
Between saying and doing there is a great distance.
Between saying and doing there is a long road.
Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out.
Between smith and smith no money passes.
Between the 'yes' and 'no' of a woman you can't place a pin.
Between the anvil and the hammer.
Between the beginning and the end there is always a middle.
Between the hammer and the anvil.
Between the hand and the lip the morsel may slip.
Between the hand and the lip the soup may be spilt.
Between the hand and the mouth the soup is lost.
Between the hand and the mouth the soup is often spilt.
Between the hand and the mouth the soup is spilt.
Between the wish and the thing life lies waiting.
Between two Saturdays happen many marvels.
Between two cooks, the soup becomes either salty or bland.
Between two cowards, the first to detect the other has the advantage.
Between two fires.
Between two friends a notary and two witnesses.
Between two sharpers, the sharpest.
Between two stools one falls to the ground.
Between two stools the breech comes to the ground.
Between two stools you come to the ground.
Between two stools, your arse is on the floor.
Between wife and husband don't put a finger between them.
Between word and deed, there's a wide trench (journey).
Between wording and working is a long road.
Between wrangling and disputing truth is lost.
Betwixt two stools the doup fas down.
Beware a rickety wall, a savage dog, and a quarrelsome person.
Beware of 'Had I but known.'.
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
Beware of a bad woman, and put no trust in a good one.
Beware of a door that has many keys.
Beware of a man of one book.
Beware of a man that does not talk and a dog that does not bark.
Beware of a man's shadow and a bee's sting.
Beware of a pledge that eats.
Beware of a poor alchemist.
Beware of a reconciled enemy.
Beware of a reconciled friend as of the devil.
Beware of a silent dog and still water.
Beware of a white Spaniard and a black Englishman.
Beware of him who gives you advice according to his own interests.
Beware of him who has nothing to lose.
These are Proverb Examples from around the world, some have been translated from their original language to english.
Full list:
A
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
B
2
3
4
C
2
D
2
3
E
2
3
4
F
2
3
G
2
H
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
J
K
L
2
M
2
3
N
2
3
4
O
2
3
4
P
2
Q
R
S
2
3
T
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
U
V
W
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Y
2
Z