270 List of American Sayings Quotes and Proverbs

Adversity has no friends.

I'd rather be red than dead.

If he's your flatterer, he can't be your friend.

There must be a first time for everything.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

He who boasts of his descent is like a potato: the best part is underground.

There's a pot gold at the end of the rainbow.

There's more than one way to beat the devil around the bush.

Don't jump from the frying pan into the fire.

As Maine goes, so goes the nation.

If a man is right, he cannot be too radical; if wrong, he cannot be too conservative.

There's no fun in physics, but a good deal of physics in fun.

The more responsibilities a man assumes, the more likely he is to meet them.

In great action, men show themselves as they ought to be, in small action as they are.

A wise man learns by the experiences of others; an ordinary man learns by his own experience; a fool learns by nobody's experiences.

Hear the evidence before you pass sentence.

Download

A smart coat is a good letter of introduction.

Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works.

Choose your friends like your books, few but choice.

The fates lead the willing man; an unwilling man they drag.

The face is the index of the mind, but appearances are deceitful.

Your ignorance is your worst enemy.

Here today, gone tomorrow.

A drunk man will sober up, but a damn fool never.

The first attempt is the most difficult.

A diamond daughter turns to glass as a wife.

The fool wanders; the wise man travels.

Your sins will find you out.

It is better to tell your money where to go than to ask where it went.

Christmas comes, but once a year is enough.

Homely in the cradle, pretty at the table.

The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.

All that shines is not silver.

The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

It is better to pay and have a little left than to have much and be always in debt.

A fool can ask more questions in a minute than a wise man can answer in an hour.

Honesty is praised and left to starve.

Clean your own doorstep before you clean someone else's.

The garment of peace never fades.

Honour your father and your mother.

Your whole destiny is involved in the attitude you take toward your sin.

A stout heart crushes some ill luck.

Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret.

The giver makes the gift precious.

Hope is a good breakfast, but a poor supper.

Close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

Hope of gain lessens pain.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

It is better to be lied about than to lie.

Hunger finds no fault with moldy corn.

The good lawyer knows the law, the clever one knows the judge.

A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand.

Hunger fetches the wolf out of the woods.

Colleges hate geniuses, just as convents hate saints.

The greatest art is the art of life.

It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.

The happiest place in the world to live is within one's income.

All things are easy to industry, all things difficult to sloth.

Commerce flourishes by circumstances precarious.

It is better to be a live rabbit than a tiger.

A swift eater, a swift worker.

The heart has eyes that the brain knows nothing of.

Common sense is very uncommon with a lot of people.

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never her age.

The higher you climb, the harder you may fall.

A good friend is someone who will bail you out of jail, but your best friend is the one sitting next to you saying "that was fucking awesome".

It is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday.

A thorn of experience is worth a wilderness of advice.

The king's cheese goes half away in parings.

Conceit is the self satisfaction of a jackass.

Comparisons make enemies of our friends.

All things were once impossible.

Confide not in him who has deceived you.

The longest mile is the last mile home.

A great fortune is a great servitude.

Confidence of success is almost success.

A true wife is her husband's flower of beauty.

It is an easy matter for a stingy man to get rich - but what's the use?

It is a man's challenge to go as far as he can on the right road.

The longest day will come to an end.

Consent to common custom, but not to common folly.

Always a valley before a hill.

Constant dripping wears away stone.

The loudest bell does not always have the sweetest tone.

A dirty floor means a busy stove.

Contempt is the best return for scurrility.

Industry need not wish.

Always put your best foot forward.

Count no man successful until he is dead.

It costs something to be a Christian, but it costs more to be a sinner.

Industry is fortune's right hand and frugality her left.

The man that blushes is not quite a brute.

A guilty dog always barks.

Don't meddle in others' affairs unless you want your own nose scraped a little.

Courage without conduct is like a ship without ballast.

The man who loves to argue is left without friends.

Courtesy is the password to safety.

In the boy see the man.

A whistling girl and a crowing hen never came to a good end.

The more acquaintances, the more danger.

Ambition is putting a ladder against the sky.

Cows can catch no rabbits.

Ambition is like hunting for whales - sometimes you lose them.

In politics, a man must learn to rise above principle.

Credit is suspicion asleep.

A divided man makes an unhappy spirit.

Crosses are the ladders to heaven.

An American will go to hell for a bag of coffee.

The more you eat, the more you want.

In fair weather prepare for foul.

Cultivate friends who pray for you, not prey upon you.

The most dangerous food is a wedding cake.

Cunning is the ape of wisdom.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Curses, like chickens, come home to roost.

The mountains are never so far apart but the animals find one another.

In a united family, hapiness springs up of itself.

An educated fool is dangerous.

The obvious choice is usually a quick regret.

Custom surpasses nature.

Even a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked.

A woman can't drive her husband, but she can lead him.

Ignorance is bliss.

Danger begets caution.

If your time ain't come not even a doctor can kill you.

A house without books is like a room without windows.

The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is the way you use them.

An egg today is worth a hen tomorrow.

Dare to be true; nothing can need a lie.

The only thing a heated argument ever produced is coolness.

A dog returns to where he has been fed.

Darkness is the owl's desire.

If you would enjoy the fruit, pluck not the flower.

An empty sack won't stand alone.

The opera isn't over till the fat lady sings.

Ability will enable a man to get to the top, but character will keep him from falling.

Death devours lambs as well as sheep.

If you want to know the value of money, try borrowing some.

The outward forms the inward man reveal - we guess the pulp before we cut the peel.

Death keeps no calendar.

Experience is a comb which fate gives to a man when his hair is all gone.

Deceit is a lie which wears a smile.

If you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself.

Death to the wolf is life to the lamb.

If you want something done and done well, do it yourself.

Deep calls unto deep.

Absence cools moderate passions but inflames violent ones.

The Pilgrim Fathers landed on the shores of America and fell on their knees; then they fell upon the aborigines.

Above all nations is humanity.

The real owners of the land are not yet born.

An idle brain is the devil's workshop.

Deed done is well begun.

If you make yourself into a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you.

A donkey is but a donkey though laden with gold.

The receiver is as bad as the thief.

Absence kills a little love but makes the big ones grow.

Despair is the conclusion of fools.

If you look back, you'll soon be going that way.

Delays can be dangerous.

A joy that's shared is a joy made double.

Democracy is better than tyranny.

The road to ruin is kept in good repair, and the travellers pay the expense.

A lady is a woman who makes it easy for a man to be a gentleman.

Faith is that quality which enables us to believe what we know to be at least far out.

Dig the well before you are thirsty.

If you have wit and learning, add to it wisdom and modesty.

The saddest dog sometimes wags its tail.

A drowning man grabs at a straw.

Destiny leads the willing but drags the unwilling.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Abundance, like want, ruins many.

Different strokes for different folks.

The show must go on.

If you eat a live toad first thing in the morning, nothing worse will happen all day long.

The sleeping fox catches no chickens.

An old dog does not bark for nothing.

Dime is money, as the Dutchman says.

Accident is the mother of invention.

If you don't know what to do, don't do anything.

Dignity is one thing that can't be preserved in alcohol.

The tail can't shake the dog.

Abuse is like a god that destroys his master.

Diligence is the mistress of success.

The tougher the fight, the sweeter the triumph.

If you don't believe in cooperation, watch what happens to a wagon when one wheel comes off.

A duck won't bite you.

The unknown is always great.

Folks spend their health to acquire wealth and later spend their wealth in an effort to regain their health.

An old friend wears well.

Disappointment hurts more than pain.

The weaker the argument, the stronger the words.

Diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest thing in the nicest way.

If you dance, you must pay the piper.

A life of leisure and a life of laziness are different things.

Dirt is dirtiest upon the fairest spot.

If you catch fish, you're a fisherman.

The wicked work harder to preach hell than the righteous do to get to heaven.

Accidents will happen in the best of families.

If you can't say something good about someone, come sit right here by me.

The wise man keeps his own counsel.

Distrust a prairie-dog and fix it.

From middle age on, everything of interest is either illegal, immoral or fattening.

A little bit of powder and a little bit of paint make a woman look like what she ain't.

Diseases are the tax on pleasures.

A farmer on his knees is higher than a gentleman on his legs.

Distance is the best remedy against an evil-disposed man.

Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.

The world is a ladder for some to go up and others down.

If you can't lick `em, join `em.

The young may die; the old must die.

Do a good deed every day.

An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit.

Action without thought is like shooting without aim.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do as you would be done by.

There are always more fish in the pond.

If you can't help, don't hinder.

Do it or dye!

A fault confessed is half-redressed.

Do not look for wrong and evil.

An ounce of proof is worth a ton of assertions.

Do not trust flatterers.

There are many kinds of fruit that grow on the tree of life, but none so sweet as friendship.

Getting things done is largely a matter of getting things started.

There are many witty men whose brains can't fill their bellies.

If you are a cock, crow; if a hen, lay eggs.

A little doubt saves many a mistake.

Do what you ought, come what may.

There are more ways to kill a dog than by choking him on peanut butter.

If we blame others for our failures, then we should also give others credit for our successes.

Answer a fool according to his folly.

There are other fish in the sea.

There are two sides to every story -- and then there's the truth.

Don't cast your pearls before swine.

Dogs delight to bark and bite for God has made them so.

Admiration is the daughter of ignorance.

Don't ask a man for a favour before he has had his lunch.

A fellow can do anything if he lists.

If the shoe fits, put it on.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

There are three kinds of people; those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those who don't know what's happening.

Any port in a storm.

Don't buy a cow to get a glass of milk.

Admitting error clears the score and proves you wiser than before.

If the goat would not jump around, she wouldn't break her leg.

There is a time to fish and a time to dry nets.

Anytime means no time.

If the cap fits, wear it.

Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

Don't clean your fish before you catch it.

A live dog is better than a dead lion. *

There is many a slip 'twixt cup and lip.

If the defendant is silent the jury will think him guilty.

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

Adversity does best discover virtue.

There is no accounting about tastes.

Don't cry over spilt milk.

Appearances can be deceiving.

There is no education like adversity.

A flow of words is no proof of being easy enough.

Don't drown yourself to save a drowning man.

Don't hide your light under a bushel.

If it were not for eating, the back might wear gold.

Adversity flatters no man.

There is no little enemy.

If passion drives, let reason hold the reins.

Don't fan the flame that supports the fire.

Arrogance is a kingdom without a crown.

If luck is with you, even your ox will give birth to a calf.

There is only one blasphemy, and that is injustice.

A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough.

American Sayings