Judgement and Consequence
“Look before you leap”, “Pride comes before a fall”, “Let sleeping dogs lie”: the warnings are the oldest layer of the language and the most quotable, because a proverb lets you predict trouble without accusing anyone. Two on this level are among the most misquoted sentences in English — one of them reverses the sense of a Bible verse, the other of a medieval legal rule.
Practice this set for free — no account needed. Loads 12 flashcards into the learner. The learner asks it as shown here: phrase first, meaning second.
Practice in the free learnerHow to study this set
Read the detail pages for “money is the root of all evil” and “the exception proves the rule” before you use either in writing. Both are usually said in a form that means something other than what the speaker intends.
All 12 flashcards
Swap question and answerConsider the consequences before you commit.
Look before you leap.
“Read the lease properly before you sign — look before you leap.”
Prying into things can get you into trouble.
Curiosity killed the cat.
“Stop reading his screen. Curiosity killed the cat.”
Meaning, origin and more examples →Overconfidence tends to be followed by failure.
Pride comes before a fall.
“He told everyone he had already won it, and came fourth. Pride comes before a fall.”
Do not rely on something that has not happened yet.
Do not count your chickens before they hatch.
“The offer isn’t signed — don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
Do not stake everything on a single option.
Do not put all your eggs in one basket.
“Apply to a few places, not just the one. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Leave a settled problem alone rather than reviving it.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
“Nobody has mentioned the merger in months — let sleeping dogs lie.”
A persistent rumour usually has something behind it.
There is no smoke without fire.
“Three people have said the same thing now. There’s no smoke without fire.”
Do not harm the person you depend on.
Do not bite the hand that feeds you.
“Criticising the client in public? Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
Do not criticise faults you share.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
“He called her disorganised, and his own desk is chaos — people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
Meaning well does not prevent harm.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
“They rewrote the policy to help and made it unusable. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Greed, not money itself, is what causes the harm.
The love of money is the root of all evil.
“He had enough twice over and still cut the wages — the love of money is the root of all evil.”
Meaning, origin and more examples →A stated exception implies a rule the rest of the time.
The exception proves the rule.
“‘No parking on Sundays’ tells you it is allowed all week — the exception proves the rule.”
Meaning, origin and more examples →What to learn next
That completes the set — practise it the other way round to produce these from a situation.