Miranti Dwi Resta

1202617050
17DB
Prose

VOCABULARY BUILDING (THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER)

A proverb is a short saying that expresses a common truth familiar to most people in a
particular society. English, like many other languages, is rich in proverbs. Below is an
example of a proverb taken from the story “The Rocking-Horse Winner.”

Uncle Oscar tells Paul, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

This suggests that what we already have is more valuable than what we want but have not yet
acquired.

The proverbs below are extracted from the story of “The Rocking-Horse Winner.”
Work out with the meaning of them. Do not look up your dictionary, write with your
own words.

1. A fool and his money are soon parted.

It means when someone spends their money carelessly, they will lose their money
quickly/will be penniless.

2. A stitch in time saves nine.

It means it’s better to solve a problem right now than to wait until later which it
becomes worse

3. A watched pot never boils.

It means time seems to go slower when someone is waiting something to happen.

4. Better late than never.

It means it’s better for someone to do something late than never do it at all.

5. Birds of feather flock together.

It means when people with the same interest gets together in a group.

6. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

It means don’t expect to something that has not yet happened.

7. His bark is worse than his bite.

It means when someone isn’t unpleasant as they as they seem.

8. Look before you leap.

It means consider about the consequences that you will get before you act.

9. Make hay while the sun shines.

 It means take advantage of your opportunities when you have the chance or do not
waste time when you have a chance.

10. Money is the root of all evil.

It means when money is the main reason of people do many evil things.

11. Money talks.

It means if people are rich/have much money, they can get or do what they want.

12. Necessity is the mother of invention.

It means when people are really need something, they will search the way to get it.

13. Silence is golden.

It means it’s better not to speak than speaking to much about something inappropriate.

14. Time is money.

It means use your time as well as you can because time is valuable / don’t waste time
in doing useless activities.

15. Too many cooks spoil the broth.

It means that something doesn’t go well when there are too many people to do it.