Don’t take your harp to the party
Don’t keep on talking about the same thing or bringing up the same subject. Literally ‘to harp’ is to play the harp; figuratively ‘to harp on’ is to dwell tediously on a matter.
View ArticleDon’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs
Don’t offer advice to those who are more experienced than you are. The saying is often used in the form of a retort. ‘Be careful how you use that chisel. It’s very sharp and may slip.’ ‘You go and...
View ArticleDon’t tell tales out of school
Don’t give away any damaging secrets. Don’t make public anything that should be kept private. The proverb originated among children. To tell tales out of school was to sneak – to try to keep on good...
View ArticleDon’t wash your dirty linen in public
Another way to say this is: ‘Dirty linen should be washed at home.’ The meaning is that we should not discuss intimate family matters in public, especially if they are of the shameful nature.
View ArticleDo not wear out your welcome
This is much the same advice as A constant guest is never welcome, expect that it has to do with the length of stay rather than the frequency of the visits.
View ArticleDog does not eat dog
This means the same as THERE IS HONOUR AMONG THIEVES. On the ground that UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL, wrongdoers stick together in their fight against society.
View ArticleA door must be either shut or open
You cannot have it shut and open at the same time. You must have one thing or the other, so make up your mind which you want.
View ArticleA drowning man will clutch at a straw
It is said that a drowning man will clutch at even the smallest thing to keep him afloat. Similarly a person in any desperate position will snatch at any chance, however slender, to save himself from...
View ArticleA dwarf on a giant’s shoulders sees the farther of the two
But this is only because of the height of the giant is added to his own. In the same way, if a man of little experience can add to it the greater experience of another man, he has the advantage of...
View ArticleDying is as natural as living
Since all men are mortal and must die, death is as much a part of the natural order of things as life is. The implication is that we should not fear death, as it is natural and inevitable.
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