expansion of proverbs

English Proverbs – As you sow, so shall you reap

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Proverb Expansion

The proverb means that we have to bear the consequences of our own actions. If our actions are good, the results will also be good. If we help others, we will be helped by them. If our actions are bad, the results will also be bad. Id we sow hatred and disunity, we will be hated. One is punished or rewarded according to his own just or unjust deeds. So we have to be careful in our actions, a farmer who sows good seeds in the proper way good soil can expect a good crop. One who sows inferior seeds on unprepared ground will not have anything to harvest. This is true of all our words and actions. Kind words spoken to others will bring us kind words from many. When we do evil things, we can expect only evil as reward. Our joy multiplies when our good deeds bring good results. A hardworking person will attain success in life. A lazy man will get only failures. If students study well, they will get high marks and will secure a high position in life. If they are lazy and do not work hard, they will have to face failure not only in the examinations but also in life. Thus we know that all human achievements are the fruits of pains and sufferings. A bad seed cannot produce a good fruit. If we want a good fruit, we should sow a good seed. Thus the proverb gives us the warning that we should be very careful in our actions.

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English Proverbs – An idle brain is the devil’s workshop

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Proverb Expansion

Man’s brain is a workshop. The wonderful inventions which we enjoy today are all made by the brains of men.  Man can create anything constructive as well as destructive using his brain. When a person is busy with some work, he has no time to think of doing anything harmful to others. The person who has nothing to do and whose mind is idle may think of evils things. Idling is dangerous. When we have nothing to do, our minds turn into evil thoughts. Thoughts breed words and words lead to action. An idle man tries to put into practice his evil thoughts and this will cause disorder in the society. A person whose mind is devoid of noble ideas is full of evil thoughts. Only destructive ideas will form in his mind. Keeping the mind idle is dangerous for the person and the society. That is why it is said that an idle man’s mind is the devil’s workshop. The only remedy for this is to be engaged in some useful activity. People who have no work to do should try to find out ways and means to do something useful to others. The youngsters of today go astray because they do not try to do anything constructive. Their minds are preoccupied with harmful thoughts. If they are not given the right directions, they may become terrorists, looters and murderers. So it is always better to engage oneself in a useful activity.

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English Proverbs – All that glitters is not gold

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Proverb Expansion

Gold is bright and it glitters. However, all articles that are bright and that glitter may not be made of gold. Imitation ornaments look golden in colour, but they are not really made of gold. Outward appearances are often deceptive. We should take care to find out the reality behind the appearances. We should not be misled by appearances. This is true if human beings also. A man, who lives in bungalow, wears expensive dress and moves about in a car may not be really rich. He might have incurred heavy debits. There are certain persons who are very attractive in appearance and behaviour, but they may not good at heart. If we judge them by their handsome faces and dresses, we are deceived. We are often misled by such people. So we should not led by external appearances and quantity. We should prefer quality to quantity and appearance. When we choose our friends or anything else in our lives, we should give more importance to quality than to appearance. In our modern world we have to be very keen and sharp in order not to be cheated by imitations and appearances. In determining the real value of a thing or a person, we should always probe deeper.

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English Proverbs – All lay load on a willing horse

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Proverb Expansion

The proverb warns us against exploiting sincere and co-operative people. Man used horses to carry loads in ancient times. Some horses may be unmanageable or stubborn and they do not allow their masters to load them heavily. But some other horses can be easily controlled and they are gentle. The owners load the gentle horses heavily. Those animals bear the load without any complaint. So their owners use them for hard work always. A sincere, hardworking and co-operative person is referred to as a willing horse. He does any work that is given to him without any complaint. So he is often chosen by others to do all the unpleasant and hard work. In the office he is over burdened by his boss. In the school he is overloaded by his Principal. In the factory he is exploited by his master. A stubborn and lazy person will not do such work and he cannot be asked to do such work by his superiors. So a serviceable person is always exploited by others. He is duty bound and sincere. So he does not refuse to do the work assigned to him. He works silently and his silence is indecently exploited by his lazy co-workers and employers. So they remain overburdened as all lay loads on a willing horse.

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English Proverbs – Action speaks louder than words

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Proverb Expansion

The real worth of an individual depends on the quality of the work that is done by him. This is true of an institution or a nation. Life is full of problems. In order to solve them, one must stop unnecessary preaching and should resort to practical action. A person must be a man of action to succeed in life. The great men of the world were men of action. They did not waste their precious time in giving long preaching and advice. Instead, they practised what their conscience had directed them to do and thus become models for others. They preached only what they could practise. Many people are generous and clever in offering promises and in giving advice. But they fail to fulfil and practise them. The greatest talkers are everywhere the least doers. Social reformers and political leaders talk endlessly on principles. But they themselves don’t set an example. A person should be extremely honest to set himself as an example before he begins to advice others. Great men like Gandhiji have proved it in their lives that action is more important than words. It is easy to talk and preach. But fruitful action is a difficult thing. A person’s fame and name depend on the good deeds that he has done during his life time.

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English Proverbs – A stitch in time saves nine

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Proverb Expansion

Timely action is a very important thing in life. The proverb emphasises the importance of timely action. An action, however small it may be, if done at the right time, will help to avoid serious and dangerous situation. If we repair a small tear on our shirt now, we can avoid the necessity of mending a large tear or even discarding the shirt altogether. A small piece of work done at the proper time may save a lot of time, work and money later. A wall must be repaired as soon as a crack is seen, or the whole building would fall. Repair the hole in the boat when it is seen or the boat would sink. A little cough is nothing. But if it is neglected, it might develop into serious diseases like tuberculosis. Had timely action been taken, great wars would not have taken place. In the absence of it, terrific destruction took place in the world. When there is an unpleasant situation, we would attend to it immediately. Otherwise, it will get out of control. A slight disagreement between two parties may later on develop into a serious one. By getting the dispute settled all of a sudden, we can avoid serious complications. The proverb emphasises that we must never postpone things. We must rise to the occasion and act at the right moment.

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English Proverbs – A rolling stone gathers no moss

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Proverb Expansion

A stone that remains at place for a long time without motion gets covered with moss. But a stone that rolls constantly does not gather any moss. Similarly, a person who keeps changing his place, profession or course of study, does not gain any experience or knowledge. A person who constantly shifts his residence from place to place will not have a constant friends or neighbours to know and love him. Whatever be his capabilities, he will take time to establish his reputation and win people’s confidence at a new place. Such a person does not have any affinity to anyone or anything. Just as moss covers a settled stone and makes it soft and beautiful, a man who is settled in life gets people to love and to be loved. In the same way, a person who frequently changes his occupation will not gain a steady, established position. A man who lacks determination does not stick to anything. He loiters in the world aimlessly, if a student keeps changing his course of study from physics to literature, from literature to music and so on, he cannot acquire through knowledge in any field. We should have a specific aim in life and work constantly for it with a strength of character. Thus the message conveyed by the proverb is that steadiness of purpose is the key to success.

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English Proverbs – A little learning is a dangerous thing

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Proverb Expansion

The proverb warns us against people who have half knowledge of things, but pretend that they are very wise and are the masters of their subjects. We acquire knowledge all our lives. But we have to perfect whatever we gather as knowledge. We have to make our knowledge up to date. We must also remember that we know is only very little compared to what we do not know. Our knowledge should not be allowed to make us proud and haughty. We should not put into practice our knowledge will we know that it is complete and correct. Imperfect knowledge of any matter is undesirable. A little knowledge misleads a person and often proves disastrous. It gives him the false notion that he knows everything. This may lead him to false conclusions. A doctor without proper knowledge is dangerous to patients. Such a doctor’s wrong diagnosis and wrong prescription can take the lives of his innocent patients. A doctor’s assistant who is familiar with certain medical treatments will prove to be dangerous if he begins to prescribe medicines and operate on patients. A radio or an automobile mechanic having only an elementary knowledge of his work may spoil the machinery while repairing it. Similarly, a man with a little knowledge of law may involve himself or another person in serious trouble as a result of his ignorance. Imperfect knowledge will prevent us from doing the right thing. So a little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing.

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English Proverbs – A friend in need is a friend indeed

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Proverb Expansion

The proverb gives a definition of the qualification of a good friend. True friendship can be judged only at the time of a crisis. A real friend is one who helps us in trouble. A man will have a number of friends when he lives in prosperity. But many of them will not be there when he is in trouble or in adversity. Those friends who remain with him even in his adversity are his real friends. The friends who desert us when we are in trouble are not our real friends, but our enemies. A real friend is ready to help his friend even if he is not in a position to help. Seeing the friend in difficulty, a real friend can never feel at ease. A real friend sacrifices all that he can to help his friend who is in need of help. The true test of the real worth of a friend is our adversity. Prosperity makes friends and adversity drives them away. We need not have too many friends. The few that are must be good. A sincere friend is worthier than wealth.

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English Proverbs – A drowning man catches a straw

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Proverb Expansion

A person who is in a critical situation will try to save himself by taking the support of any feeble and frail thing. A man who is on the verge of going to ruins finds even a little help to be of immense use just as a drowning man seeks the support of a straw. A straw is very feeble and it cannot bear the weight of a man. But a person who has fallen into a deep river and is drowning will desperately catch a floating straw. He will not think then that he is doing a silly thing. He thought then will be to clutch at anything that will seem to save him. A little help from outside enables a man afflicted with misery to come out victorious. A person faced with a serious problem will grab at any opportunity in the hope of solving it. He doesn’t then think whether it is a big chance or a small one. Nothing in this world is insignificant. An apparently worthless thing may turn out to be the most helping factor to a man. What appears to us useless and petty may prove to be a saving factor. We tend to regard some people as silly and some small things as useless and insignificant so long as we have power and wealth and human support. But, when once all these disappear and we are faced with ruin, these very significant people and things which we have earlier despised prove to be decisive factors in our existence.

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English Proverbs – A burnt child dreads the fire

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Proverb Expansion

The proverb tells us that experience is the best teacher. We tell a child that fire is dangerous and not to touch it. Sometimes the child may not understand it properly. So it may touch the fire and get burnt. It gets an experience from its deed and it will be very careful with fire later on. The lesson that we learn from a bitter experience is never forgotten. We learn many things from our lives. These experiences are more effective than the knowledge that we gain from reading books. We never forget the things that we have learned ourselves. We commit many mistakes in our lives. The experiences that we have gained from our mistakes will help us to avoid them in future. We will be very careful not to repeat the same mistake. An experience is a sort of warning and we will surely learn from it.

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English Proverbs – A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush

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Proverb Expansion

The moral of this proverb is that we should be content with what we have and should not become greedy. The proverb warns us against running after bigger fortunes leaving the opportunities we get. A bird which one has got in the hand is always more valuable than two birds which one aims to get, but are in the bush. The reason is that the birds in the bush can always fly away and the possibility of his getting them is doubtful. But the one in his hand cannot escape and can be useful to him. If the person lets the bird in his hand go free and tries to catch those in the bush, they may also fly away and he will a complete loser. It is better to be in possession of even small things than to have hopes to get something difficult. In other words, it is always better to utilize whatever opportunity is at hand than look forward to some other opportunity that may come in future. Our neighbours who are poor sometimes prove to be more helpful to us than our rich relations who are far away. Our rich relations who are away may not will to help us at all. So it is foolish to reject the help of our poor neighbours. Unreasonable greed and craze to get quickly rich always lands one in trouble. The story of king Midas is an eye opener in this connection. Not connected with his treasure of gold and silver, he begged God for the boon of golden touch. He was given the boon that whatever he touched would turns into gold. At last he lost everything including his dearest daughter. So we should be content with what we have.

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English Proverbs – A bad Workman quarrels with his tools

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Proverb Expansion

Tools help to improve the quality of the work; therefore they are necessary for the work to be done. But it is important how they are used and who use them. A good workman is known by his efficiency. His efficiency lies in handling the tools. He is talented, skilled and confident of success in his work. He knows how to put the tools to proper use and he does not blame them. A bad workman does not know how to make proper use of his tools. He does not have the skill of handling the tools and so he quarrels with them. As a result, the quality of his work will be low. He does not admit his own lack of skill and talent. This is common among people. Many people will try to put the blame on others for their own faults. They never admit their faults. If a student does not get pass mark in the examination, he will put the blame on his teacher. If a cricket player does not get sufficient runs, he will say that it is the defect of the bat or the ground. If a team fails in a match, the members of the team will say that the referee was partial. Thus, any workman who quarrels with his tools is a bad workman. On the other hand, a good workman will repair his tools if they don’t work well. He never finds fault with his tools. In short, a man who admits his faults and limitations can overcome them easily and he will succeed in life.

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English Proverbs – To Err is Human, to Forgive Divine

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Proverb Expansion

In one of Shakespeare’s plays one of the characters says, ” The quality of mercy is divine “. Indeed to be able to forget the evil that others have done to you and to forgive them is divine. Jesus Christ, even on the cross, during his last moments, was able to say this about the people who had put him to death : father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. Lord Rama showed no rancour against his stepmother, Kaikeyi, for sending him to the forest for sending him to the forest for fourteen years so that her son, Bharat, could be the king.

All of us are humans. We all have our weaknesses.No human being is prefect. So when someone does a wrong to us, why can’t we forgive them? When someone hurts us it is because that person is human and little understands the harm that he or she is causing. Forgiving that person brings out the god-like nature that lies in man.It is not very easy to do, but once we do it, we will feel an inner peace and the spirit of reconciliation.

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Failures Are The Pillars To Success

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Thus go an ancient saying ‘To be a champion, fight one more round, “which is very true. Only tireless pursuit can create winners. Success comes to those who try and never tire. To be a winner, one has learn to strive with perseverance, courage and determination. Success cannot be achieved in a day. The road to success is not an easy one.

It is narrow, rough, patchy, slong and full of hurdles and obstacles. One has to learn to overcome the hurdles and obstacles to achieve the desired goal. In reality, the path to success is strewn with failures. With each failure one gets closer to success and with each fall one rises higher. It may seem paradoxical and contradictory to talk of failures and falls along with success and rising higher. Each failure brings one closer to success because within each failure is hidden a lesson about success.

The child takes a step forward but then on the second one he falls and stumbles. But that does not mean that the child will never learn to walk just because he stumbled. Rather this stumbling ensures that soon he will learn not only to walk but run around also. Look at a bird in the sky, how it flutters, flutters and fails. Hoe does the wings quiver as I makes it first attempts to fly. It tries and fails. But it does not give up. But at the end it spreads its wings and off its go into the blue sky.

The story of the ant trying to climb a wall is often remembered. It crawls a few inches and falls. But tries again. In fact, the ant goes on trying infinitely-trying to reach the top of the wall. The on looker gets bored, tired and loses heart. But the ant does not. It keeps on trying till it reaches the top-till it reaches where it wants to be.

History too is sprinkled with such instances where success is granted only after passing through a series of failures. Mohd. Ghazni had attacked 17 times before he succeeded in con- quering India. One has to try a number of times before actually tasting success. Even great men and women in the world have had their share of failures before reaching their desired goals.

The darkest hour is before dawn. Thus when nothing seems to work out in the right manner and it seems that all roads are leading to failures and nothingness one has to just remember the arrival of the dawn, the sun rising dispelling darkness at that very moment when night seemed blackest and thickest. Therefore one should never lose hope but keep on trying till one achieves success.

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