2013-04-09

Epigrams

Apparently many famous epigrams that are used in everyday English derive from the writings of one John Heywood.  To wit (from Wikipedia):
  • What you have, hold.
  • Haste maketh waste. (1546)
  • Out of sight out of mind. (1542)
  • When the sun shineth, make hay. (1546)
  • Look ere ye leap. (1546)
  • Two heads are better than one. (1546)
  • Love me, love my dog. (1546)
  • Beggars should be no choosers. (1546)
  • All is well that ends well. (1546)
  • The fat is in the fire. (1546)
  • I know on which side my bread is buttered. (1546)
  • One good turn asketh another. (1546)
  • A penny for your thought. (1546)
  • Rome was not built in one day. (1546)
  • Better late than never. (1546)
  • An ill wind that bloweth no man to good. (1546)
  • The more the merrier. (1546)
  • You cannot see the wood for the trees. (1546)
  • This hitteth the nail on the head. (1546)
  • No man ought to look a given horse in the mouth. (1546)
  • Tread a woorme on the tayle and it must turne agayne. (1546)
  • Many hands make light work. (1546)
  • Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake? (1562)
  • When he should get aught, each finger is a thumb. (1546)
Some are phrased in outdated English, but it's amazing how these epigrams endure some 470 years later.

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