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Learning English - The Flatmates

Language Point

Archive Language Point 14
Proverbs: money and work

A proverb is a well-known phrase that gives advice or says something that is generally true.

Proverbs are fixed groups of words so you can't change the wording of a proverb. For example you can say "Too many cooks spoil the broth" (a lot of people will make a mess of trying to complete a task together) but you can't say "Too many cooks spoil the soup".

Proverbs are also so well-known that we often only say the first half of them (the rest we leave unsaid because everyone knows the ending). So for example, Tim said "A fool and her money.." when the whole proverb is "A fool and his money are soon parted" which means that stupid people find it difficult to hold on to their money.

In the examples below the part in brackets is often left unsaid.

Money burns a hole in your pocket.
You spend your money too quickly.

All that glitters (is not gold).
Don't judge something by its appearance. It may look like it's worth a lot of money but it might actually be quite cheap.

Money talks.
People who are rich have more power and influence than people who are poor.

Don't count your chickens (before they hatch).
You shouldn't spend money (or make plans) based on what you expect to have (or happen) in the future.

Where there's muck (there's brass).
You can earn a lot of money if you don't mind getting a bit dirty.

All work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy).
If you take your work too seriously you won't have time to relax and have fun. You'll be a boring person if all you think about is work.

Many hands (make light work).
This is the opposite of "Too many cooks" and means that if we all work together we will complete the task more quickly than if we each work by ourselves.

A bad workman (always blames his tools).
If you don't do a task well it's because you don't have the skills to do it not because the instruments you used weren't good enough.

You can't teach an old dog (new tricks).
As people get older, they usually don't like to try new things or new ways of doing things.

Make hay (while the sun shines).
Don't wait till tomorrow to do what you can do today because tomorrow your circumstances might change and you may not be able to do it.

to strike it rich (informal):
to get a lot of money suddenly or unexpectedly

sumptuous (adj):
very expensive and impressive

to have impeccable taste:
to be able to choose the best things

the till (n):
the place where you pay for things you buy in a shop

to get good reception:
when talking about mobile phones, this means that the signal is strong and that you can hear the other person clearly