a bad workman always blames his tools »
It is not the tools we use which make us good, but rather how we employ them.
|
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush »
It is preferable to have a small but certain advantage than a mere potential of a greater one.
|
a closed mouth gathers no feet »
One who does not speak can be certain he won't say anything embarrassing.
|
a drop in the bucket »
An effort or action having very little overall influence, especially as compared to a huge problem.
|
a gentleman and a scholar »
An admirable person.
|
a good man is hard to find »
Men who make good husbands or workers are rare.
|
a leopard cannot change its spots »
One cannot change one's own nature.1597, William Shakespeare, Richard II Act i, Scene 1 (First Folio):King. Lyons make Leopards tame.Mowbray. Yea but not change his ?pots.1611, King James Version of the Bible, Jeremiah 13:23:Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe Chapter 32:End now all unkindness. Let us put the Jew to ransom, since the leopard will not change his spots, and a Jew he will continue to be.1918, Johnston McCulley, Thubway Tham's Inthane Moment:The leopard cannot change his spots, old boy.
|
a life of its own »
An independent existence with some characteristics of life.
|
a man is known by the company he keeps »
People are similar in character to their friends.
|
a new broom sweeps clean »
New management will often make radical changes.
|
a number of »
Several of.
|
a picture paints a thousand words »
A visualisation is a better description than a verbal description.1971, David Gates (of Bread), If, from Manna album:If a picture paints a thousand wordsThen why can't I paint you;The words will never showThe you I've come to know.1989, Alan Kay, quoted in K?o-tung Huang, Timothy D. Huang, Introduction to Chinese, Japanese and Korean Computing, World Scientific, ISBN 9971506645, p. 9:Most human beings, no matter how familiar they are with abstract symbols, respond to voice and images better than written language. In other words, A picture paints a thousand words.2006, Paul Shakespeare, Building a Dune Buggy: The Essential Manual, ISBN 1904788734, p. 52:See accompanying diagram: a picture paints a thousand words, and all that!
|
a pull of the hair for being unfair »
The general response to "A kick and a flick for being so quick", which is in turn a response in itself to "A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month".
|
a riddle wrapped up in an enigma »
Something very mysterious and hidden.
|
a scholar and a gentleman »
An admirable person.
|
| Search from any page on the Web with Abbreviations.com AutoSearch. It's free! |
