Proverbs
Common American Proverbs
Proverbs are interesting linguistic phenomena that may arouse students’ curiosity and provide cultural insights. Each proverb presented has a simple image to illustrate it and a conversation that exemplifies its use. The conversation can be read and heard, so both reading and listening skills can be practiced. There are many ways in which these units can be used in class, and the following scheme is one example: 1. Say or write a proverb without providing any context and ask students to guess the meaning; 2. have the students read or listen to the conversation and see if the context helps; 3. have students practice the conversation and then create their own conversations in which the proverb would be appropriate; 4. have students tell about proverbs from their country which may have a similar idea.
1. A stitch in time saves nine
Ali: Hi, my friend. Do you want to go to the movies?
Khalid: Sorry, I can’t now. I don’t have any time.
Ali: Why? Where are you going?
Khalid: Oh, I’m going to the dentist.
Ali: Do you have a toothache?
Khalid: No, I’m just going for a check-up.
Ali: Really? I never go to the dentist unless I have a lot of pain.
Khalid: I would rather have the dentist fix a small problem than wait until it becomes a big one. You know what they say: a stitch in time saves nine.
2. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill
Khalid: You don’t look very happy, Ali. What’s wrong?
Ali: I’m so mad at Jaber.
Khalid: What happened?
Ali: He was supposed to come to my house but he just called and said that he can’t.
Khalid: So what’s the problem?
Ali: Well, I wasted half an hour waiting for him.
Khalid: That’s no big deal. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
3. All that glitters is not gold
Ali: Look at that car.
Khalid: The red one?
Ali: Yes. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
Khalid: Yes, it looks very nice.
Ali: I wonder if it’s expensive.
Khalid: Why?
Ali: I want to buy it. I really like it.
Khalid: I read about that model. It’s a bad car.
Ali: But it looks so good.
Khalid: Yes, but all that glitters is not gold.
4. Out of the frying pan into the fire
Khalid: How did you do on the English test?
Ali: Terrible! I failed it. I got 52%.
Khalid: That’s too bad.
Ali: Now I’m really in trouble because the teacher said I have to get the test signed by my father.
Khalid: Uh oh. That sounds like a problem.
Ali: It’s a big problem. My father will be really angry.
Khalid: What are you going to do?
Ali: I think I’m going to sign my father’s name.
Khalid: Are you sure that’s a good idea. You can really get into trouble if your father finds out about that.
Ali: You might be right. I might be going out of the frying pan into the fire.
5. Rome was not built in a day
Khalid: Hey, Ali, how are you doing?
Ali: Not so good.
Khalid: Why? What’s wrong?
Ali: I have to do a project for my management class.
Khalid: Is it hard?
Ali: I’ll never finish it. I spent all day in the library just doing research. I have so much reading to do and then I have to interview people. And then I have to write a report.
Khalid: It sounds like a big job. When is it due?
Ali: In one month. Oh, I feel sick.
Khalid: Take it easy. You have plenty of time. Just do one piece at a time. Don’t try to finish it all at once. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
6. Half a loaf is better than none
Khalid: What’s wrong, Ali?
Ali: You won’t believe what just happened to me.
Khalid: What happened?
Ali: I’ve been working on a big report for the past two weeks.
Khalid: Yes, I know. You’ve been telling me about it.
Ali: Well, my computer just crashed and I lost everything.
Khalid: Oh, no. Did you lose everything?
Ali: Well, I lost about half. I saved the first half on a floppy disk.
Khalid: You’re lucky you still have half of it. Half a loaf is better than none.
7. It’s no use crying over spilled milk
Ali: If only I got one more question right!
Khalid: What?
Ali: If I had gotten just one more question right on the test, I would have passed it.
Khalid: So you failed?
Ali: And the worst thing is that I changed one answer from right to wrong. If only I had kept the first answer.
Khalid: It’s too late now. Why don’t you spend your time studying for the next test?
Ali: I’m so mad at myself for changing that answer.
Khalid: Just forget it and move on to the next thing. It’s no use crying over spilled milk.
8. Too many cooks spoil the broth
Khalid: How was your vacation?
Ali: It was OK once we got there?
Khalid: Didn’t you like the drive?
Ali: We kept getting lost. It took us twice as long to get there as it should have.
Khalid: There were five of you? Didn’t anybody know the directions?
Ali: That’s the problem. We all thought we knew the directions but each person had a different idea.
Khalid: It sounds like a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
9. People that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
Ali: Don’t you hate when people do that, Khalid?
Khalid: Do what?
Ali: When they litter and throw their garbage on the street, like that man over there. He just threw his empty cigarette package into the street.
Khalid: Yes, I hate that, too. But, I noticed that you cleaned your car this morning and threw all your garbage right onto the street.
Ali: Um, did I, really?
Khalid: Yes, you did the same thing you’re mad at that man for. People that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
10. Curiosity killed the cat
Ali: What is that box by the door?
Khalid: I don’t know. It just came in the mail.
Ali: Let’s open it and see what’s inside.
Khalid: We can’t open it. It’s not for me. It’s addressed to my brother.
Ali: He won’t mind. Besides we can close it again and he’ll never know that we looked.
Khalid: I’m not going to open it. Maybe my brother doesn’t want me to know what it is.
Ali: But aren’t you curious? I’m dying to know what it is.
Khalid: You know what they say, Ali – curiosity killed the cat.
11. Haste makes waste
Khalid: What are you doing, Ali?
Ali: I’m making a graph for my class.
Khalid: You did that yesterday. Do you have to make another one?
Ali: Actually, I have to make the same one again.
Khalid: Why do you have to do it again?
Ali: Well, I was in a hurry when I was working on it yesterday and I made some mistakes. I left out some important information. Now I have to do the whole thing over from the beginning.
Khalid: That’s too bad.
Ali: I guess it’s true that haste makes waste.
12. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile
Ali: Khalid, are you busy right now?
Khalid: Not too busy. Why?
Ali: Can you do me a favor?
Khalid: I’ll try. What is it?
Ali: Can you help me with my homework? It’s really hard and I don’t understand it.
Khalid: Sure I’ll try to help you.
Ali: That’s great. Thanks.
Khalid: Do you want to start now?
Ali: I have to go somewhere now. Can you start without me?
Khalid: I only agreed to help you with your homework, not to do it for you. It looks like if I give you an inch, you’ll take a mile.
13. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink
Ali: Something is wrong with Jaber.
Khalid: Is he sick?
Ali: Yes, he is sick in the head. He’s crazy.
Khalid: Why do you say that?
Ali: He refuses to learn how to use the Internet. Everyone uses the Internet but Jaber won’t even try. I spent all day showing him how to use the Internet to get all kinds of information. I showed him how easy it was to use the Internet and how much you could do with it. Then when I finished, he said he wasn’t interested. Can you believe that?
Khalid: Well, Ali, you did all you could. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.
14. Don’t put the cart before the horse
Ali: Do you want to come to the store with me, Khalid.
Khalid: Sure. What are you going to buy?
Ali: I want to buy a few DVDs.
Khalid: Wait a minute. You don’t have a DVD player.
Ali: Oh, I’ll get one sometime.
Khalid: Well, you shouldn’t buy DVDs until you have a player to watch them on.
Ali: Maybe you’re right. I guess I am putting the cart before the horse.
15. Where there is smoke, there is fire
Ali: Did you hear that Asad is quitting school?
Khalid: No, I didn’t know that. Did he tell you?
Ali: No. I heard it from Jaber.
Khalid: Did Jaber talk to Asad?
Ali: No he heard it from some people he met at the library.
Khalid: It sounds like a rumor. It may not be true.
Ali: Well, maybe not, but a lot of people seem to have heard the same rumor and nobody has seen Asad in school for a while.
Khalid: It may just be a rumor, but you may be right. After all, where there is smoke, there is fire.
16. Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Ali: Did you start applying to graduate school yet?
Khalid: I’m working on my applications now.
Ali: What schools are you applying to?
Khalid: I’m sending applications to five schools but the one I really want to go to is Harvard Business School.
Ali: Isn’t that a hard school to get into?
Khalid: Yes. It’s very hard. It’s one of the best business schools in the world.
Ali: Do you think you have a chance of being accepted?
Khalid: I don’t know but I’m going to try. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
17. A chain is as strong as its weakest link
Khalid: Did you watch the football game yesterday?
Ali: Yes, I did. It was really disappointing.
Khalid: I know. I thought the team would be much better than it is.
Ali: Well, the team is pretty good this year. There are some really strong players.
Khalid: That’s true, but the goalie isn’t very good. He kept letting the ball go right by him.
Ali: Yes, the goalie isn’t very good but the rest of the team is great.
Khalid: The problem is that a chain is as strong as its weakest link.
18. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Ali: I’ve decided to invest my money in stocks.
Khalid: That sounds like a good idea.
Ali: Yes, I think I’m going to make a lot of money.
Khalid: What stocks are you going to buy?
Ali: There’s a great computer company I heard about.
Khalid: You aren’t going to invest all your money in one company, are you?
Ali: Sure. Why not?
Khalid: It’s safer to diversify. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
19. Look before you leap
Ali: I’m going to quit school.
Khalid: What! When did you decide that?
Ali: Just now. The idea just came to me.
Khalid: Why do you want to do that?
Ali: I have to get up early to go to school and I have to do homework and I have to sit through boring classes. If I quit, my life will be a lot easier.
Khalid: But how are you going to find a job later? You are going to have a lot of problems later if you quit. This is a big decision and you should look before you leap.
20. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Ali: Do you know what I think I’ll do?
Khalid: No. What?
Ali: I think I’ll buy a new car.
Khalid: Really? Do you have money for a car?
Ali: I will pretty soon. Remember, I invested my money.
Khalid: Yes, but you haven’t earned anything yet, have you?
Ali: It’s just a matter of time. Soon I’ll be rich.
Khalid: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
21. Take it with a grain of salt
Khalid: What are you reading?
Ali: A magazine. Look at this.
Khalid: The advertisement?
Ali: Yes. It says, “These pills are guaranteed to make you stronger in two weeks.”
Khalid: You’re not thinking of buying them, are you?
Ali: Why not? It’s a lot easier to take pills than exercise. And they are guaranteed.
Khalid: Don’t believe everything you read, Ali. Advertisements don’t always tell the truth. You should take what they say with a grain of salt.
22. The pot calls the kettle black
Khalid: Are you still angry with Jaber.
Ali: Not really. But he really annoys me.
Khalid: Why? What does he do that is annoying?
Ali: He’s a very lazy guy?
Khalid: Why do you think he’s so lazy?
Ali: He sleeps every day until ten o’clock.
Khalid: You usually wake up at eleven o’clock, don’t you? The pot is calling the kettle black.
23. If the shoe fits, wear it
Khalid: How are you today, Ali?
Ali: Not very good. I’m really angry with my professor.
Khalid: What happened? Did you fail the test?
Ali: Yes, but that’s not the only reason.
Khalid: What else happened?
Ali: He said that I was lazy.
Khalid: Really! Why did he say that?
Ali: Because I didn’t do any homework for the past two weeks.
Khalid: Well, he might be right, you know. If the shoe fits, wear it.
24. Let sleeping dogs lie
Khalid: Look, there’s Jaber over there.
Ali: Yes, I see him.
Khalid: Does he still owe you money?
Ali: Yes. He never paid me back.
Khalid: Well, this is a good chance for you to ask him when he will pay you back. Are you going to ask?
Ali: No, I don’t think so.
Khalid: Why not?
Ali: I think it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie.
25. The early bird catches the worm
Khalid: Hi, Ali? What are you doing up so early?
Ali: I’m going to the music store.
Khalid: Why are you going so early in the morning?
Ali: There’s a new CD that I want to buy.
Khalid: But, the store isn’t open yet, is it?
Ali: No, but a lot of people will want that CD and I don’t want to miss it.
Khalid: So you want to be there before the store opens?
Ali: That’s right. The early bird catches the worm.