Proverb’s, Catch Phrases and Idiom’s: The Lawlessness of Sides with John Dapolito

Defining a “proverb” is a difficult task. Proverb scholars often quote Archer Taylor’s classic “The
definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking... An incommunicable quality tells us this
sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a
sentence as proverbial”.[2] Another common definition is from Lord John Russell (c. 1850) “A proverb is
the wit of one, and the wisdom of many.”

More constructively, Mieder has proposed the following definition, “A proverb is a short, generally
known sentence of the folk which contains wisdom, truth, morals, and traditional views in a
metaphorical, fixed, and memorizable form and which is handed down from generation to
generation.”[4] Norrick created a table of distinctive features to distinguish proverbs from idioms,
cliches, etc.

A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that
expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often
metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim.

List of proverbial phrases:

Haste makes waste.

A stitch in time saves nine.
Ignorance is bliss.
Mustn't cry over spilled milk.
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Fortune favours the bold.
Well begun is half done.
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
It is better to be smarter than you appear than to appear smarter than you are.
Good things come to those who wait.
A poor workman blames his tools.
A dog is a man's best friend.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
If the shoe fits, wear it!
Honesty is the best policy.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Beggars can’t be choosers.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Birds of a feather flock together.
The early bird catches the worm.
 Proverb’s, Catch Phrases and Idiom’s: The Lawlessness of Sides with John Dapolito

A catchphrase (or catch-phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such
phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of
mass media (such as literature and publishing, motion pictures, television and radio), as well as word
of mouth. Some become the de facto or literal "trademark" or "signature" of the person or
character with whom they originated, and can be instrumental in the typecasting (beneficially or
otherwise) of a particular actor.

A bigger bang for your buck

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
A diamond in the rough
A diamond is forever
A dish fit for the gods
A dog is a man's best friend
A drop in the bucket
A fate worse than death
A feather in one's cap
A fish rots from the head down
A fish out of water
A fly in the ointment
A fool and his money are soon parted
A fool's paradise
A foot in the door
A foregone conclusion
A friend in need is a friend indeed
A golden key can open any door
A good man is hard to find
A house divided against itself cannot stand
A knight in shining armour
Back-seat driver
Back the field
Back to basics
Back to square one
Back to the drawing board
Catch 22
Caught by the short hairs
Caught red-handed
 Proverb’s, Catch Phrases and Idiom’s: The Lawlessness of Sides with John Dapolito

Idiom: a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language

Every language has its own collection of wise sayings. They offer advice about how to live and also
transfer some underlying ideas, principles and values of a given culture / society. These sayings are
called "idioms" - or proverbs if they are longer. These combinations of words have (rarely complete
sentences) a "figurative meaning" meaning, they basically work with "pictures".

: an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a
separate meaning of its own

: a form of a language that is spoken in a particular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar,
and pronunciations

: a style or form of expression that is characteristic of a particular person, type of art, etc.

a : the language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class : dialect

b : the syntactical, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language

: an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasn't
me) or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (as ride
herd on for “supervise”)

: a style or form of artistic expression that is characteristic of an individual, a period or movement, or a

medium or instrument <the modern jazz idiom>; broadly : manner, style <a new culinary idiom>

A hot potato
A penny for your thoughts
Actions speak louder than words
Add insult to injury
An arm and a leg
At the drop of a hat
Back to the drawing board
Ball is in your court
Barking up the wrong tree
Be glad to see the back of
Beat around the bush
Best of both worlds
Best thing since sliced bread
Bite off more than you can chew
Blessing in disguise