I remember reading something like “out from something’s mouth/jaws (like a dragon) and into another…” Answer It’s not a dragon, but it’s nevertheless very warm: Out of the frying pan into the fire The phrase out of the frying pan into the fire is used to describe the situation of moving or getting from a … Read more
English is not much of my first language, so I apologise for that first. I’ve search around on Google, and notice that it’s sort of a Dutch Proverb, but not much explanation about what it means. May I please know what this quote mean? Answer It means that even when something is very steady (four … Read more
There is a well known proverb, A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush However, I have discovered that the earliest English version of this proverb according to phrases.org.uk is found in John Capgrave’s The Life of St Katharine of Alexandria, 1450: “It is more sekyr [certain] a byrd in your fest, … Read more
I came across this line while reading the Novel Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. In the novel, Abel uses this line when he sees his hotel burned to the ground. I searched a lot but found just one link in which explanation is given as follows , which is still not clear to me … Read more
I recently read a long list of English proverbs and strongly felt that a considerable number of them have a double meaning, despite that the explanations of the proverbs provide only one meaning for each proverb. I am curious as to whether native English speakers see double meanings of English proverbs as I do and, … Read more
There is a proverb or saying in Arabic and the exact translation is… “When whores talk about honor” …this is said when someone points out other people’s mistakes while he/she makes the same mistakes or something even worse. is there anything similar or equivalent in English? Answer Those who live in glass houses should not … Read more
We have a proverb in my language: “Make the jacket to the button”. I’m looking for the equivalent in English. The meaning of the proverb is: A tiny part of job is already done. It turns out that the rest of the job can only be done with a significant compromise due to the way … Read more
I’m translating a Russian blog post into English and got stuck with the proverb, “Whatever a Russian does, they end up making the Kalashnikov gun.” (Humorously meaning it’s hard or even impossible to get past established patterns of doing things.) Are there any similar proverbs in the English language? I was trying to omit the … Read more
I was looking for a proverb or a saying that describes the hypocrisy of a local dictator at a non profit organization who held and managed fake elections in which he was running for the president position which he won. Everybody was laughing at its faulty procedures and the obvious conflict of interest. Interestingly, last … Read more
I came across the following old proverb in which I noticed that a bare infinitive verb is used after a singular subject. Devil take the hindmost. My question is: was it normal at that time to use a bare infinitive verb in such constructions? Answer ‘The Devil take the hindmost’ in the early sixteenth century … Read more
