# Classic proverbs

Proverbs in wide English use — many of them, as Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) records, are centuries old and drawn from the Bible, the classics, and folk tradition.

## About this category

Proverbs in wide English use — many of them, as Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) records, are centuries old and drawn from the Bible, the classics, and folk tradition. Each entry below gives the plain meaning, an origin note honestly attributed to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) or marked as uncertain, and a usage example.

## Questions

### Where do the origins for classic proverbs come from?

Origins on this page are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898). Where the origin is disputed or unknown, the entry says so plainly.

### Are these idioms still in modern use?

Most are in everyday English; a few are chiefly literary or old-fashioned, and those are flagged in the usage notes.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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