Old Sayings : T

Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves. - Phillip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, (1694-1773)
Take it straight from the horse’s mouth. - Francis Iles (1893-1970)
Take life as it comes. - unknown
Take the bull by the horns. - North American Saying
Tap even a stone bridge before crossing it. - Korean (on vigilance)
Tell me what you are conceited about, and I’ll tell you what you lack. - Argentinian saying.
Tell me whom you love and I’ll tell you who you are.- African-American (on life and living)
Temper justice with mercy. - John Milton (1608-1674)
Teeth placed before the tongue give good advice. - Italian (on advice)
Thanks cost nothing. - Creole (on gratitude)
The afternoon knows what the morning never expected. - Swedish (on basic truths)
The anger of the prudent never shows. - Burmese (on anger)
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. - Asian Proverb
The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth. - Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
The bad plowman quarrels with his ox. - Korean (on criticism)
The best candle is understanding.- Welsh (on knowledge and ignorance)
The best cure for a short temper is a long walk. - unknown
The best mirror is an old friend. - George Herbert (1593-1632)
The best sauce in the world is hunger. - Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
The best thing a man can do for his kids is to love their mother. - unknown
The best thing about telling the truth is…you don’t have to remember what you said! - unknown,
The best things in life are free. - B.G. DeSilva (1927)
The best way to keep good acts in memory is to repeat them. - Cato (234-149 BC)
The best way to predict the future is to create it. - unknown
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. - unknown
The blind person is not afraid of ghosts. - Burmese (on courage and fear)
The blocks of wood should not dictate to the carver. - Maori (on art and creativity)
The brave person regards dying as going home. - Chinese (on courage and fear)
The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller but one. - George Herbert (1593-1633)
The calm before the storm. - unknown
The cat would eat fish but would not get her feet wet. - Chaucer (c.1343-1400)
The chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things. - G.K. Chesterton
The company makes the feast. - J. Warton (1653)
The complete fool is half prophet. - Yiddish (on foolishness)(Meaning: even a fool is right half the time)
The contented person can never be ruined. - Chinese (on conscience)
The continuous drip polishes the stone.- Peruvian (on patience)
The covetous person is always in want. - Irish (on greed)
The crab that walks too far, falls into the pot. - Haitian (on caution and care)
The cream always rises to the top. - unknown
The creditor hath a better memory than the debtor. - unknown
The crow may be caged but his thoughts are in the cornfield. - Belizean (on temptation)
The customer is always right. - Barry Pain (1864-1928)
The darkest hours are just before dawn. - English Proverb
The day has eyes; the night has ears.- Scottish (on nature)
The day you decide to do it, is your lucky day.- Japanese (on luck)
The deceitful have no friends.- Hindi (Asian Indian) (on justice)
The devil catches most souls in a golden net. - German (on temptation)
The devil dances in empty pockets. - Tudor (English)(on wealth and poverty)
The devil finds work for idle hands. - St. Jerome (345-420)
The devil looks after his own. - Scottish Proverb
The devil tempts but doesn’t force. - Guyanan
The devil wipes his breech with poor folks’ pride. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The difference between a pig and a hog is the lean in his meat. - unknown
The die is cast. - Julius Caesar
The discontented man finds no easy chair. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The doors of wisdom are never shut. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The drum makes a great fuss because it is empty. - Trinidadian (on vanity and arrogance)
The eagle does not catch flies. - Latin (on character and virtue)
The eagle was killed with an arrow made with its own feathers.- Armenian (on paradox)
The early bird catches the worm. - William Camden (1551-1623)
The early bird gets the worm, the second mouse gets the cheese. - unknown
The earth has music for those who listen. - unknown
The easiest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it in your pocket. - unknown
The end doesn’t justify the means. - Ovid (c.43 BC-AD 18)
The end of one thing is only the beginning of another. - unknown
The errors of a wise man make your rule rather than the perfections of a fool. - William Blake (1757-1827)
The excellency of hogs is — fatness; of men– virtue. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The eyes are the windows of the soul. - Thomas Phaer (c.1510-1560)
The fall of a leaf is a whisper to the living.- Danish (on life and living)
The fat is in the fire. - John Heywood (c.1497-1580)
The fly on the water buffalo’s back thinks he is taller than the water buffalo. - Tagalog (Filipino)(on vanity and arrogance)
The fool is thirsty in the midst of water. - Ethiopian (on foolishness)
The fool never undertakes little. - Czech (on foolishness)
The frog enjoys itself in water but not in hot water. - African proverb Wolof Tribe
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. - Eleanor Roosevelt
The good will of the governed will be starved if not fed by the good deeds of the governors. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The grand instructor, time. - Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
The grass is always greener in someone else’s yard. - unknown
The greatest remedy for anger is delay. - unknown
The half is better than the whole. - Hesiod (c.720 BC)
The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world. - William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)
The hardest person to awaken is the person already awake. - Tagalog (Filipino)(on vigilance)
The heart at rest sees a feast in everything. - Hindu (Asian Indian) (on attitude)
The hero appears only after the tiger is dead. - Burmese (on cynicism)
The higher the monkey climbs, the more he shows his tail. - John Wycliffe (c.1320-1384)
The higher you climb, the heavier you fall. - Vietnamese (on pride)
The honey is sweet but the bee has a sting. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The house of the loud talker, leaks. - African proverb Zulu Tribe
The human tongue is more poisonous than a bee’s sting. - Vietnamese (on criticism)
The laborer is worth his wage. - Bible (Luke 10:7)
The lazy person must work twice.- Latin American (on idleness)
The leopard does not change his spots. - William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
The lion believes that everyone shares his state of mind. - Mexican (on differences)
The longest journey begins with the first step. - unknown
The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves. - William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
The love of money is the root of all evil - Bible
The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. - Edward John Phelps (1822-1900)
The master of the people is their servant.- Yemeni (on leadership)
The memories of youth make for long, long thoughts. - Lapp (on youth and age)
The miller sees not all the water that flows by his mill. - Robert Burton (1577-1640)
The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak. - Bible
The more the merrier. - John Heywood (c.1497-1580)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. - Alphonse Karr (1808-1890)
The more you ask how much longer it will take, the longer the journey seems.- Maori (on journeys; )
The most exquisite folly is made of wisdom spun too fine. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The mouse that hath but one hole is taken quickly. - George Herbert (1593-1633)
The mouth prays to Buddha but the heart is full of evil.- Vietnamese (on hypocrisy)
The new boat will find the old stones. - Estonian (on perversity)
The old law about an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. - Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
The old one who is loved, is winter with flowers. - German (on youth and age)
The one being carried does not realize how far away the town is. - Nigerian (on gratitude)
The one who teaches is the giver of eyes. - Tamil (Asian Indian) (on education)
The one who understands does not speak; the one who speaks does not understand.- Chinese (on paradox)
The only real test in life is to conquer your fears. - unknown
The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. - Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)
The pen is mightier than the sword. - unknown
The person afraid of bad luck will never know good.- Russian (on luck)
The person sins, then blames Satan for it.- Afghan (on the human comedy)
The person who gets stuck on petty happiness, will not attain great happiness.- Tibetan (on joy and sorrow)
The person with burnt fingers asks for tongs. - Samoan (on experience)
The pleasure of doing good is the only one that will not wear out. - Chinese (on good and evil)
The poor lack much but the greedy more. - Swiss (on greed)
The pot calling the kettle black. - unknown
The price of your hat is not always the measure of your brain. - African American (on appearance and reality)
The proof is in the pudding. - Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
The prudent embark when the sea is calm---the rash when the sea is stormy. - Maori (on prudence)
The rain falls on every roof. - African Proverb
The rattan basket criticizes the palm-leafed bag, yet both are full of holes. - Filipino (on criticism)
The real art of conversation is not only saying the right thing at the right moment but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the most tempting moment. - unknown
The remedy against bad times is to have patience with them.- Arabic (on patience)
The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
The right place at the wrong time. - unknown
The road to a friend’s house is never long. - Danish Proverb
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. - Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
The salt of patience seasons everything.- Italian (on patience)
The sap rises in the spring. - unknown
The second word makes the quarrel. - Japanese Proverb
The shoe knows if the stocking has a hole.- Bahamian (on knowledge and justice)
The shoemaker’s children have no shoes. - unknown
The sight of books removes sorrows from the heart. - Moroccan (on books and writers)
The sky’s the limit. - Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
The spider and the fly can’t make a bargain. - Jamaican (on buying and selling)
The squeaky wheel gets the grease. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The stargazer’s toe is often stubbed.- Russian (on the human comedy)
The sting of a reproach is the truth of it. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The strength of the heart comes from the soundness of the faith. - Arabic (on faith)
The strong should help the weak so that the lives of both shall be made easier. - Aesop (c.620-560 BC)
The teeth that laugh are also those that bite. - Hausa tribe of West Africa (on appearance and reality)
The tongue has no bones, yet it breaks bones. - Greek (on discretion)
The truly rich are those who enjoy what they have. - Yiddish (on conscience)
The wheel turns slow but it turns sure. - unknown
The winds of heaven change suddenly; so do human fortunes.- Chinese (on permanence and change)
The wise and the brave dares own that he was wrong. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
The wise do as much as they should, not as much as they can. - French (on wisdom)
The wise man learns more from his enemies than the fool does from his friends. - Ben Franklin
The wise through excess of wisdom is made a fool. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
The wise understand by themselves; fools follow the reports of others. - Tibetan (on wisdom)
The wolf and the dog agree, at the expense of the goat which together they eat. - Basque (on friends and foes)
The work will teach you. - Estonian (on work)
The world is the traveler’s inn.- Afghan (on journeys)
The worst enemy you have is right in your head. - unknown
The worst prison is a closed heart. - Pope John Paul II
The years teach much which the days never know. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
There are a thousand roads to every wrong. - Polish (on cynicism)
There are no birds in last year’s nest. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
There are no fools more troublesome than those with wit. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
There are no strangers in life; only friends I haven’t met yet. - unknown
There are plenty of fish in the sea. - Gabriel Harvey (c.1545-1630)
There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. - Michel Eyquem Montaigne (1533-1592)
There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond and to know one’s self. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
There is a big gap between advice and help. - unknown
There is always someone worse off than you. - Aesop (c.620-560 BC)
There is great force hidden in a gentle command. - George Herbert (1593-1633)
There is honor among thieves. - English Proverb
There is more than one way to skin a cat. - unknown
There is much difference between imitating a good man and counterfeiting him. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
There is no accounting for taste. - unknown
There is no dying by proxy. - French (on death and dying)
There is no eel so small but it hopes to become a whale. - German (on ambition)
There is no fire without some smoke. - John Heywood (c.1497-1580)
There is no fool like an old fool. - unknown
There is no great loss without some small gain. - unknown
There is no hand to catch time. - Bengali (Asian Indian)(on time and timeliness)
There is no key to happiness; the door is always open. - unknown
There is no little enemy. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
There is no proverb without a grain of truth. - Russian
There is no substitute for experience. - unknown
There is nothing that can’t be made worse by telling. - Latin (on discretion)
There is nothing to fear but fear itself. - Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945)
There is often wisdom under a shabby coat. - Latin (on wisdom)
There must be an easier way. - unknown
There was never a good war or a bad peace. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
There would be no great men if there were no little ones. - George Herbert (1593-1633)
There’s a time and place for everything. - unknown
There’s always a catch. - unknown
There’s many a good cock that came out of a tatter’d bag. - Scottish Proverb
There’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle. - Samuel Butler (1612-1680)
There’s many a slip twixt cup and lip. - English Proverb
There’s no glory without sacrifice. - Bicol - Filipino (on fame)
There’s no harm in trying. - unknown
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. - American Saying
There’s no time like the present. - unknown
There’s none so blind as those who will not see. - Mid-14th Century French Proverb
There’s none so deaf as those who will not hear. - Mid-14th Century French Proverb
There’s plenty of time to bemoan bad fortune once it arrives.- Yiddish (on luck)
There’s small choice in rotten apples. - William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
There’s strength in numbers. - unknown
They are most cheated who cheat others. - Danish (on buying and selling)
They are not free who drag their chains after them. - French (on freedom and slavery)
They that dance must pay the fiddler. - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
They that live the longest, see the most. - 14th Century French Proverb
Things are seldom what they seem. - W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911)
Things come to those who wait. - unknown
Things could be worse. - unknown
Things happen for the best. - unknown
Things happen naturally. - unknown
Things often happen when you least expect them. - unknown
Think many things; do one. - Portuguese (on practicality)
This above all, to thy own self be true. - unknown
Those not ruled by the rudder, will be ruled by the rocks. - Welsh (on rewards and consequences)
Those who are feared, are hated. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
Those who can’t dance say the music is no good. - Jamaican (on criticism)
Those who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones. - George Herbert (1593-1633)
Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age but they die young. - Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934)
Those who love most are least valued. - English Proverb
Those who play with cats must expect to be scratched. - Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
Thou dost protest too much. - William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Though a cage be made of gold, it is still a cage. - Mexican (on appearance and reality)
Though honey is sweet, don’t lick it off a briar. - Irish (on caution and care)
Throw dirt enough and some of it will stick. - unknown
Time and tide wait for no man. - unknown
Time doesn’t stand still. - unknown
Time flies when you’re having fun. - unknown
Time heals all wounds. - unknown
Time is an herb that cures all diseases. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
Time is money. - unknown
Time is of the essence. - unknown
Time waits for no man. - unknown
Time is the rider that breaks youth. - George Herbert (1593-1633)
‘Tis a well spent penny that saves a groat. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. - William Congreve (1670-1729)
‘Tis easier to prevent bad habits than to break them. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
‘Tis easier to suppress the first desire, than to satisfy all that follow it. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
‘Tis easy to see, hard to foresee. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
‘Tis hard (but glorious) to be poor and honest. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
‘Tis the eye of childhood that fears an imagined devil. - William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
To be great is to be misunderstood. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
To be or not to be, that is the question. - William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
To be willing is to be able. - French (on attitude)
To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it. - Confucius (c.551-479)
To believe a thing impossible is to make it so.- French (on impossibility)
To believe with certainty, we must begin by doubting. - Polish (on faith)
To each his own. - William Shakespeare
To envy others is foolish indeed. - Aesop (c.620-560 BC)
To err is human, to forgive divine. - Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
To feel love, give love to yourself and others. - unknown
To get eggs there must be some cackling. - Dutch (on work)
To know all is to forgive all. - MMe. De Stael (1807)
To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
To live in peace, one must be blind, deaf and mute. - Turkish (on war and peace)
To speak ill of anyone is to speak ill of yourself. - Afghan (on courtesy and respect)
To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves. - Will Durant (1885-1981)
To the world you might be one person, but to one person, you just might be the world. - John H. MacDonald Jr.
To thine own self be true. - William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
To those whom much is given, much is asked in return. - Bible (Luke 12:48)
Today can’t catch tomorrow. - Jamaican (on time and timeliness)
Today is the first day of the rest of your life. - North American Saying
Today my turn, tomorrow yours.- Samoan (on justice)
Tomorrow is a new day. - English Proverb
Tomorrow never comes. - unknown
Tongue double, brings trouble. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
Too many cooks spoil the broth. - unknown
Too much breaks the bag. - Spanish (on balance and moderation)
Too much politeness conceals deceit. - Chinese (on courtesy and respect)
Too soon old, too late smart ! - Norma Victor
Tread on thorns with your shoes on. - Hebrew (on prudence)
Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools that have not enough wit to be honest. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
Trouble always comes in threes. - unknown
Trust in God but tie your camel. - Iranian
Truth and roses have thorns about them. - unknown
Truth comes out in wine. - Pliny (23-79 AD)
Truth when witty is the wittiest of all things. - Julius Charles Hare (1795-1855) & Augustus William Hare (1792-1834)
Truth will out. - unknown
Try to strike a happy medium. - unknown
Trying to get everything, you often get nothing. - Ivatan (Filipino) (on greed)
Never forget benefits done you, no matter how small. - Vietnamese
Two and two make four. - James MacNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Two captains sink a ship.- Turkish (on leadership)
Two heads are better than one. - John Heywood (c.1497-1580)
Two in distress makes sorrow less. - unknown
Two men looked out through the same bars; one sees the mud and one the stars. - Frederick Langbridge (1849-1923)
Two wrongs don’t make a right. - unknown
Two’s company, three’s a crowd. - unknown