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"proverb"
Definition: Short, pithy statement of a general truth, one that condenses common experience into memorable form. One of the progymnasmata. See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "word"
Examples and Observations:
- "Here's the rule for bargains: 'Do other men, for they would do you.' That's the true business precept."
(Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit)
- "An influence ceases when the person receiving it becomes aware of it."
(Alain Resnais)
- "Time wounds all heels."
(Jane Ace)
- "Try everything once except incest and folk-dancing."
(Sir Thomas Beecham)
- "When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."
(Sir Winston Churchill)
- "A nose in need, deserves Puffs indeed."
(commercial slogan for Puffs tissues)
- "A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains."
(Dutch proverb)
- "A camel never sees its own hump."
(African proverb)
- "Use soft words and hard arguments."
(English proverb)
- "Work smart, not hard. That's my philosophy, boss."
(Dr. Gregory House, "Deception," House, M.D.)
- "Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box."
(Italian proverb)
- "One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds."
(Frank Zappa)
- "[Proverbs are] brief, memorable, and intuitively convincing formulations of socially sanctioned advice."
(Paul Hernadi and Francis Steen, "The Tropical Landscape of Proverbia: A Crossdisciplinary Travelogue," Style, Spring 1999)
- "It's not the thing you fling; it's the fling itself."
(Chris Stevens in Northern Exposure)
- "You know what they say--life throws you a gutter ball, you got to slap on the old rosin bag and step up to the line."
(Chris Stevens in Northern Exposure)
Pronunciation: PRAHV-urb Also Known As: adage, maxim, sententia
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