Proverbs are popular, short, wise sayings with words of advice or warning. The following proverbs are still in current use.
Even a worm will turn
(Even a meek and humble man will resist if pushed too far)
Even Homer sometimes nods
(Even the best of us are liable to make mistakes)
Every ass likes to hear himself bray
(Foolish people seem to be fond of their own voices)
Every cloud has a silver lining
(Every prospect, however grim, has its consoling or hopeful side)
Every cock crows on his own dunghill
(Anybody can boast of their courage in safe and familiar surroundings where their bravery is unlikely to be put to the test)
Every dog has his day
(Don’t be too boastful, for tomorrow your position may be reversed)
Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard
(Every family has a guilty secret that it tries to conceal from the world)
Every flow must have its ebb
(Our lives have many ups and downs. Neither good fortune nor ill fortune will last forever)
Every horse thinks its own pack heaviest
(We imagine that we have a greater load to carry than others)
Every Jack must have his Jill
(Everyone gets a mate)
Every law has a loophole
(An unscrupulous person can get round any rule or regulation to his own advantage)
Every man for himself and devil take the hindmost
(Self-preservation is the first law of nature)
Every man has his price
(No man is completely honourable. By giving a bribe anyone can be persuaded to act improperly)
Every man has the defects of his own virtues
(Every good quality in a person has a corresponding bad quality)
Every man is his own enemy
(It is the character of a man that does him harm than his enemy)
Every medal has two sides
(The reverse of the medal is the other side of the question)
Every oak must be an acorn
(Don’t be discouraged by your own smallness)
Every why has a wherefore
(There is a reason for everything)
Everybody’s business is nobody’s business
(Everybody thinks that somebody else will do it)
Everyone to his taste
(We have our likes and dislikes)
Everything comes to him who waits
(One who is prepared to wait patiently usually gets what one wants in the end)