a penny saved is a penny earned» A maxim for thrift that says that money not spent may be spent later, or may earn interest in the meantime
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 question of» The important question is; the necessary question is.
a rolling stone gathers no moss» A person who never settles in one place will never be successful.A person who does not keep active will grow mouldy.
a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down» An otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.1999, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253335833, page 372,One is known as the "sweetening parable," that is to say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Thus, when the aim is to preach to the people, to guide them along the "bitter," arduous path of upholding burdensome precepts and prohibitions, a tale can lighten the load, make the "medicine" easier "to swallow."2001, Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir, Little, Brown, ISBN 0316736368, page 319,It put some fun into the tedious business of preparing for a presidential debate. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right?2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.
a watched pot never boils» A process appears to go more slowly if one waits for it rather than engaging in other activities.
abide by» To accept a decision or law and act in accordance with it; to conform to; to acquiesce; as, to abide by an award.
abound in» To have something in great numbers or quantities; to possess in such abundance as to be characterized by.
abound with» To have something in great numbers or quantities; to possess in such abundance as to be characterized by.
