Do English know these PROVERBS? Do they use them at all?

[blueabell2go]

Sorry,

that should have read "practise". Must have been that swim in the Atlantic I had this afternoon.

[Beny]

Originally Posted by rewboss

They're not English idioms, but if you want the true English idioms, you'll probably have to explain to us what the proverbs actually mean. I can guess that 4 means that if you tell a lie, you may have trouble living with it afterwards, but I can't think of an English equivalent. You were right about 6.

7 is interesting. I don't think there's an English equivalent, but the Welsh have a saying: "Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon", which means: "A nation without a language is a nation without a heart" -- which is different, but probably related.

Well,everybody has his own explaination of proverbs. Slightly,you got it.You may be right...I`m never sure about proverbs
I think the proverb means: Lies have short legs=.Sooner or later someone will find out that you told a lie..or you simply disclose it.You can not get far with lying. (Well,I`m only intermediate so my explaination may be weird )

[BobK]

That's the way I see 4 too; there is a common English saying: Truth will out (which means 'the truth has a tendency to come out in the end'), but it's a bit short to call it a proverb.

b
PS -
The alternative, incidentally, is 'Tell the truth and shame the Devil'.

[Tdol]

'Murder will out' is an alternative I've heard to 'Truth will out'.

[Eye_Tear]

hello there

i think that some English people know some of these sayings

about saying no.4 & 7 are even known in the Arab world

thanks for the topis

eye tear

[sydneysider]

Originally Posted by Beny

Hi all! I found in a magazine for learners of English some proverbs. But I`m not sure about them. Are they only Slovak proverbs translated into English? Or English people really know/use them...
Here they are:
1.Fish start to smell from the head.
2.When Lady Luck is tired,she sometimes sits on an ox.
3. Fear has big eyes.
4. Lies have short legs.
5.What is possible for God is not possible for an ox.
and many other..: 6.They haven`t even caught the wolf, and they`re already drinking to its pelt. ..it should be 'Don`t count your chickens before they`ve hatched.'
7.The more languages you know, the more you are a human being.
Thanx for help

Love no.7. How true.

[Mordant]

No1 'Fish stinks from the head down' is a phrase used in English and means that corruption starts at the top.

No7 The nearest I know to that one is 'Travel broadens the mind'

No2 Could refer to finding good fortune in the most unlikely places, don't always expect to find it in the obvious places, especially in the lives of poor hardworking people.

No4 Your lies will soon find you out. Or to be a good liar you need to have an even better memory.

No5 The ox being the beast of burden for many countries its usefulness knows no bounds, but it cannot compete with God when it comes to helping any situation.

No3 Could this mean that you are giving yourself away by having wide eyes when you are fearful. Another phrase might be to 'keep your cards close to your chest', though not a very good one. Are there any about smelling fear?

[lordfrikk]

Since I am Czech which are quite close to Slovaks, in our language (as you probably know :) ) there are proverbs no. 1, 3, 4 & 7. Others aren't probably used in Czech. I would have to hear their slovak translations though to verify that.