36 Classic Sayings Every Man Should Know

Adages, Proverbs and Aphorisms Every Man Should Learn · 1. A rolling stone gathers no moss – · 2. A watched pot never boils · 3. Don't look a gift ... SkiptomaincontentSkiptoprimarysidebarShareTweetPinSayings,proverbs,adages,aphorisms…whateveryoucallthem,they’reprettymuchthesamething:Bite-sizephrasesthatcaptureasliverofwisdomorprofoundtruthaboutlife.“Hastemakeswaste”“Ifitain’tbroke,don’tfixit”“Nothingventured,nothinggained”Fromthetimewe’reoldenoughtospeak,we’rebombardedwiththem. Butdotheyhaveanyrealvalue?Inthe2001FrenchmovieAmelie, there’sagreatscenewhereAmelie’sloveinterest—ahandsomeandcharmingFrenchdude(naturally)—isbeingvettedbyAmelie’sbestfriend.Thefriendlikesthewould-besuitorandwantstogiveherblessingontherelationship.Butshe’stroubledthatshedoesn’thaveabettersenseoftheman’scharacter.Onawhim,shestartsquizzinghim.Sheblurtsout,“Oneswallowdoesn’tmake…?”Atfirsthe’sconfused,thenherealizeswhatshe’sdoing.“Asummer?”herepliestentatively.“Practicemakes…?”sheasks.“Perfect.”heanswers.Andsoon.Inthemovieitseemsslightlyridiculous.Butitmademethink:istheresometruthtothat?Isitasignofgoodcharactertobefamiliarclassicsayings?Oratleastanindicationthatyou’llmakewiserchoicesinlife?Onsomelevel,Ithinktheanswerisyes.Withthatinmind,hereare36classicproverbs,adagesandaphorismsthatIthinkareworthlearning.Manyoftheseareself-explanatory,butothersrequiremorecontexttoappreciate.Adages,ProverbsandAphorismsEveryManShouldLearn1.Arollingstonegathersnomoss– Areferencetothewaythatrocksareovergrownbymossandlichenwhentheystayinonespot.Ononehandthisadagesuggeststhatapersonwhoneversettlesdownandkeepsmovingwon’tbeencumberedbytheweightofresponsibility.Ontheflipsite,itcanalsobeusedtosuggestthatapersonwhoneverputsdownrootswon’treapthebenefitsoflong-termrelationshipsorbelongingtoacommunity.2.Awatchedpotneverboils3.Don’tlookagifthorseinthemouth–Thiswasanadagethatalwaysconfusedme,soIwasexcitedtofinallylookupthemeaning.Apparently,thewaytotellahorse’sageisbylookingatitsteeth.Thesayingliterallymeansthatifsomeonegivesyouahorse,it’srudetolookinitsmouthtocheckhowolditis—that’slikelookingforthepricetagonagift.Thismaximremindsusthatwhensomeonedoessomethingniceforus,weshouldsimplybegratefulratherthantryingtoevaluateitsvalue.4.Peoplewholiveinglasshousesshouldn’tthrowstones5.Jackofalltrades,masterofnone– Thebeginningofthissaying(Jackofalltrades)isoftenusedasacomplementforsomeonewhoisgoodatmanythings.Butbyadding“masterofnone,”themeaningchangestosuggestapersonwhodabblesinmanythingsisrarelygreatatanyonething. Interestingly,themeaningflipsbacktopositivewhenyoulookattheoriginalfullproverb:“Jackofalltrades,masterofnone,thoughoftentimesbetterthanmasterofone.”6.Necessityisthemotherofinvention7.Astitchintimesavesnine– Areferencetothefactthatbyquicklysewingupasmalltearinagarment,youcanavoidasmalltearbecomingamuchlargertearovertime.Thisremindsusthattheearlierwedealwithproblems,themorewecancontainthepotentialnegativeeffects.8.Don’tcrossthebridge’tilyoucometoit9.Everydoghashisday– OneoftheearliestreferencestothisadageisinShakespeare’sHamlet:“LetHerculeshimselfdowhathemay,Thecatwillmewanddogwillhavehisday.”Inthatcontext,itmeantthatevenpeoplewithsupernaturalabilities(likeHercules)can’tkeepnaturefromactinglikenature.SimilartoAndyWarhol’s“15minutesoffame”quote,thephrasenowmeansthatnomatterhowinsignificantapersonorcreature,eachonewillhaveitsmomentofgreatnessatsomepointinlife.10.Thesqueakywheelgetsthegrease11.Discretionisthebetterpartofvalor– Thismaximremindsusthatbeingwiseandavoidingunnecessaryrisksisbetterthanimpulsive,rashbravery.Ironically,thephraseoriginallyappearedasajokeinShakespeare’sHenryIV,PartI. Oneofthecharacters,Falstaff,pretendstobedeadonthebattlefieldandusesthephrasetorationalizehiscowardlybehavior.12.Don’tbitethehandthatfeedsyou13.Toomanycooksspoilthebroth– Thisistheoriginalversionofthemorecommon“toomanycooksinthekitchen”phrase.Naturally,thereferenceistothefactthatifmultiplecooksare“tweaking”arecipe,thedishisgoingtosufferbecausetherearetoomanycompetingtastesandvisions.Thisisagreatreminderthatabiggerteamisnotalwaysbetter,andthatdecision-by-committeecanoftenresultinasuboptimaloutcome.14.Don’tputallyoureggsinonebasket15.Youcanleadahorsetowater,butyoucan’tmakeitdrink.16.Abirdinhandisbetterthantwointhebush– Ahuntingreferencethatpointsoutthatwhenyou’vealreadycaughtonebird,itmaynotbeworthriskinginordertocapturetheotherbirdsthatarestillhidinginthebrush.Thissayingcautionsusfromtakingunnecessaryrisks,andtoweighthevalueofwhatwehaveversuswhatwehopetogain.17.Achainisonlyasstrongasitsweakestlink18.Twoiscompany,threeisacrowd19.Foolsrushinwhereangelsfeartotread– ThisadagewasfirstusedbyEnglishpoetAlexanderPopeinhispoem,“AnEssayonCriticism”in1711,whichisalsotheoriginoftheadage“Toerrishuman,toforgiveisdivine.”The“foolsrushin”phrase(whichElvisreferencedinhisfamoussong)referstothewaythatpeoplewithlessexperienceandwisdomhastilytrytoattemptthingsthatpeoplewithgreaterskillandjudgementwouldavoid.20.Thelaststrawbreaksthecamel’sback21.Pennywise,poundfoolish22.Birdsofafeatherflocktogether– Ifyou’veeverwatchedbirdsinthesky,youknowthattheyoftenflytogetheringroups.Thisadageisusedtodescribehowpeopleofsimilarattitudes,interestsandbeliefsoftencongregatetogether.Thiscansometimestobeusedtopointoutnegativecharacteristicsofpeople.23.WheninRome,doastheRomansdo24.Nomanisanisland25.Strikewhiletheironishot– Areferencetoblacksmithing,whereyouneedtohitahotpieceofmetalwithamalletbeforeitcoolsinordertochangeitsshape.Thesayingremindsustoactquicklywhenopportunitiesarisebeforewemissourchance.26.Cleanlinessisnexttogodliness27.Wastenot,wantnot28.Thepotcallingthekettleblack– ThefirstreferencetothisidiomappearedintheSpanishnovel DonQuixote. Theexpressionreferstoapotcriticizingakettleforbeingblackfromsoot,whichisridiculoussincetheyarebothdirtiedbythesamecookingfire.Thesayingisusedtocalloutapersonwhocriticizessomeoneforanissuethattheythemselvesareguiltyofaswell.“Really,Peter?YouThat’slikethepotcallingthekettleblack.”29.Betterthedevilyouknowthanthedevilyoudon’tknow30.Barkingdogsseldombite31.Theproofisinthepudding– Thisisactuallyamodificationoftheoriginalproverb,whichsaid“theproofofthepuddingisintheeating.”Atthetime(the1600’s)puddingwasasavorydishmadewithsausage.Theproverbismeanttoremindusthatyoucanonlyjudgeifsomethingisasuccessonceyou’vetesteditoutinreallife.32.Actionsspeaklouderthanwords33.Mancannotlivebybreadalone34.Makehaywhilethesunshines–ThisphraseliterallyreferredthechallengesthatmedievalEnglishfarmersfacedwhentryingtoharvesthay;atthetimeittookseveraldaystoharvest,andbadweathercouldhampertheirefforts.Sotheywouldplantomakeasmuchhayaspossiblewhentheweatherwasgood.Thesayingremindsusseizetheopportunitytotakeactionwhenthemomentisrightandconditionsarefavorable.35.Letsleepingdogslie36.Don’tthrowthebabyoutwiththebathwaterConclusionIt’stemptingtodismissoldsayingslikethesebecausetheysoundtriteandoverlysimplistic.Andyes,manyofthemarecontrived,like“Astitchintimesavesnine.”Clearlyitwasjustconvenienttosay“nine”sinceitrhymedwith“time.”Whilesometimestheyjustsoundlikebadpoetry,that’sbecausetheyarepurposefullydesignedtobeeasytoremember. Theyarealsodesignedtodelivertheessenceofaprofoundtruthinasfewwordsaspossible.Themoretimeyouspendwiththesekindsofproverbs,themoretheybecomepartofyou.Andoften,likeinspiringquotesfromgreatmen,theselittlecapsulesofwisdomwillbubbleuptoyourconsciousnesspreciselywhenyouneedtheirguidancemost.Whatothersayingswouldyouaddtothislist?Leaveyoursuggestionsinthecommentsbelow.ShareTweetPinYoumightalsolike...PaulChurchill:RecoveryElevatorHowtoStopSaying“Um”,“Like”,andOtherFillerWordsWhyColdShowersAreWorthHyperventilatingOverAboutKyleInghamKyleInghamistheFounderandEditorofTheDistilledMan,anonlinechannelthathelpseverydayguysbecomewell-roundedgentlemen.Kyleisahusband,newfather,blogger,podcaster,andarecoveringadvertisingexecutive.Forthepast7years,he'sbeenhelpingmenlearntheessentialskillsandknowledgetheyneedtobecomebetter,moreconfidentmen.KyleenjoysBourbon,burritosandtheoccasionalpiratejoke.HelivesintheSanFranciscoBayAreawithhiswifeandson. AboutTheDistilledMan|ListentothePodcast|FeaturedPostsPrimarySidebarMostPopularHowtoBeMoreAssertive(WithoutBeingaJerk)HowtoMakeaGreatFirstImpressionTableManners101:BasicDiningEtiquette101MotivationalQuotesonBeingaGentlemanMakingGuyFriendsasaMan:MaleFriendship101RecentPostsCareerSecond-ActsandLivingYourPurpose|PaulOllingerHowtoBuildaStrongerMarriage|LauraHeck2000BooksWithManiVayaDatingEssentialsforMen|Dr.RobertGloverHowtoTameYourAnxiety|Dr.LorettaBreuning