Czech Proverbs (87)

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There have been few wars which did not
originate through priests or women.

A wedding lasts a day or two,
but the misery forever.

Violets and lilies do not blossom always.

Too much wisdom does not produce courage.

He who is busy with work cares little for news.

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The sow, when washed, returns to the muck.

The spoon is prized when the soup is being eaten.

You have to suffer smoke in order to keep warm.

Big thieves hang little ones.

Not all whose heels tread round the church are saints.

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Money is a master everywhere.

Young people and dogs take many
useless steps in an hour.

It is enough to show a whip to a beaten dog.

Not every opinion is truth.

The ox is caught by its horns,
man by his tongue.

❖

Do not wait for a reward for good,
the reward for ill will not miss you.

Each sin has its own excuse.

Not even a hundred robbers can rob him who is naked.

What is born of a cat will catch mice.

Confide in an aunt and the world will know.

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A word which flew out of the mouth like a sparrow
cannot be drawn back, even by four horses.

Death alone measures equally.

Small children eat porridge,
big ones eat their parents' hearts.

Wisdom is easy to carry but difficult to load.

A house without a woman is a meadow without dew.

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When a donkey is well off he goes dancing on ice.

The seats in heaven which are prepared
for good guardians are still vacant.

Give with discretion, accept with memory.

He who dies from fears is not
worth a place in the churchyard.

Politeness pleases even a cat.

❖

Don't praise the feast until you are going home.

The fish does not go after the hook, but after the bait.

He who goes seeking other people's
sausages often loses his own ham.

God gives the grain, but we must make the furrow.

Buy what you do not need,
soon you will sell what you need.

❖

A horse is once a foal; man is a child twice in his lifetime.

Many a friend was lost through a joke,
but none has ever been gained so.

Correct your friend secretly and praise him publicly.

Friend to everybody, true to nobody.

Nothing seems expensive on credit.

❖

He who has not been given brains
from above will not buy them at the apothecary.

Do not choose your wife at a dance,
but on the field among the harvesters.

A weary horse finds even his own tail a burden.

Ignorance is an ungrateful guest.

A word which flew out of the mouth like a
sparrow cannot be drawn back, even by four horses.

❖

Do not spit into a well; you do not know
when you will drink out of it yourself.

A good song may be sung three times.

It is time, not the comb, that makes men bald.

Praise a horse after a month
and a woman after a year.

If the fool knew how to be silent he could sit among the wise.

❖

Learning is a bitter root, but it bears sweet fruit.

The house does not make the master,
but the master makes the house.

Foolishness grows by itself, no need to sow it.

Illness comes by many roads
but always uninvited.

Misfortunes find their way even on the darkest night.

❖

Meat twice cooked and a friend
twice reconciled are hardly ever good.

A miser is like a sow, useful only when dead.

Better to have a handful of might
than a bag of justice.

He who marries might be sorry;
he who does not will be sorry.

The poor man has only one sickness,
the rich man a hundred.

❖

Custom is rust that mocks at every file.

It is an unhappy house where the cock is silent and the hen crows.

Blessed is the man who has friends,
but woe to him who needs them.

The poor man has only one sickness,
the rich man a hundred.

It is better not to begin than,
having begun, to leave unfinished.

❖

A clean face needs no water.

Even a coward pursues him who runs away.

An early bird hops far.

A liar ought to lie with memory.

Better go to bed without supper than to live with debts.

❖

It is easier to throw the load off the cart than to put it on.

Love drives out fear.

Better a lie that heals than a truth that wounds.

It is easy to lie if you have come from afar.

Even kings bow at the threshold.

❖

The law is like a cobweb;
a beetle breaks through,
but a fly is caught.

As long as the language lives ,the nation is not dead.

The warm kitchen never lacks flies.

As long as the language lives the nation is not dead.

Leisure is the mother of sins and the stepmother of virtues.

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Laws without penalties are bells without clappers.

Doubts mean losing half of one's case beforehand.

He who places his ladder too steeply
will easily fall backwards.

One's own house is both heaven and hell.

Not even a chicken digs for nothing.

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God helps the navigator,
but on condition that he rows.

The swallow carries spring on its wings.

❖❖❖

Nothing seems expensive on credit. ~ Czech Proverb [17952]

16q, QOTD,

Surround yourself with friends, not fences. — Czech proverb

More Czech Proverbs

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.

[6052] WW031, WednesdayWisdom

Politeness pleases everyone including the cat. — Czech proverb

More Czech Proverbs

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.

[6025]

When you go to buy, use your eyes, not your ears. ~ Czech Proverb [19366]

Wisdom is easy to carry, but difficult to gather. ~ Czech Proverb [19544]

The big thieves hang the little ones. ~ Czech Proverb [18880]

Misfortunes always come in by a door that has been left open for them. ~ Czech Proverb [17780]

It is not the thief who is hanged, but one who was caught stealing. ~ Czech Proverb [17397]

Do not choose your wife at a dance, but in the field among the harvesters. ~ Czech Proverb [16173]

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends. ~ Czech Proverb [16196]

A Mime and His Friends, 2008
Photo by Boz Donovan
used with permission

Do not choose your wife at a dance, but in the field among the harvesters. ~ Czech Proverb [16173]

Better a lie that heals than a truth that wounds. ~ Czech Proverb [15906]