Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs
[...]... 183 Ten teemes of oxen draw much lesse, Than doth one haire of Helens tresse 1640 Outlandish Proverbs no 685 Beauty drawes more then oxen 1666 Piazza Universale 199 One hair of a woman draws more than a hundred yoke of oxen 1693 Persius' Satire V 1 247 She Can draw you to her, with a single Hair 1712 Rape of Lock II 28 And beauty draws us with a single hair 1863 King Olaf xvi Not ten yoke of oxen Have... in the eye of the beholder and not in the object itself 1847 Jane Eyre II ii Most true is it that ‘beauty is in the eye of the gazer’ 1878 Molly Bawn I xii ‘I have heard she is beautiful—is she?’ ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ quotes Marcia 1940 Scott of Antarctic II 48 ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ The eye, which is the reflector of the external world, is also the mirror of the soul... in the Mode.’ ‘It is better to be out of the World, than out of the Fashion.’ 1903 From Window in Chelsea IV Women seem seldom hindered by lack of money when it is a case of follow-my-leader ‘Better be out of the world than out of the fashion.’ 1935 If I were Dictator i Dictatorships are fashionable just now There was an old-time song which said ‘If you are out of the fashion you had better leave the... Rescuing of Romish Fox B8 Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together 1599 Spanish Grammar 83 Birdes of a feather will flocke together 1660 Nonsuch Professor 81 Our English Proverb That birds of a feather will flock together To be too intimate with sinners, is to intimate that you are sinners 1828 Pelham III xv It is literally true in the systematised roguery of London, that ‘birds of a... Seven Churches in Asia p v ‘The best is oftentimes the enemy of the good’; and many a good book has remained unwritten because there floated before the mind's eye the ideal of a better or a best 1925 Times 1 Dec 16 This is not the first time in the history of the world when the best has been the enemy of the good; one single step on solid ground may be more profitable than a more ambitious flight 1960... a less specific sense In quot 1958, it refers to (the durability of) a work of art c 1380 Parliament of Fowls l 1 The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne 1558 Government of Health 5VAnd although oure life be shorte, yet the arte of phisicke is long 1581 tr S Guazzo's Civil Conversation I 16 An art is long and life is short 1710 Proverbs 380 Art is Long, Life Short Our Philosophical Meditations... in the best of all possible worlds 1943 Moving Finger xv I agreed with happy Miss Emily that everything was for the best in the best of possible worlds 1961 Ice in Bedroom ii Fate had handed him the most stupendous bit of goose [luck] and all was for the best in this best of all possible worlds content and discontent ; optimism The BEST is the enemy of the good Also the GOOD is the enemy of the best... sown with the Seed of the Church, I mean, the bloud of primitive Martyrs 1889 Pleasures of Life II xi The Inquisition has even from its own point of view proved generally a failure The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church 1979 Church Times 15 June 10 It is not merely that ‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church’; it is that a little persecution is good for you adversity ; Christianity... GORSE is out of bloom, kissing's out of fashion blow see it's an ILL wind that blows nobody any good; SEPTEMBER blow soft, till the fruit's in the loft; STRAWS tell which way the wind blows BLUE are the hills that are far away A northern proverb comparable to DISTANCE lends enchantment to the view Green is sometimes found instead of blue Cf the GRASS is always greener on the other side of the fence... corporate strategy these days is that the best defense is a good offense 1997 Washington Post 9 Dec E5 In the case of the Redskins' two-minute defense, the best defense is a good offense And Washington had that boldness ; warfare away see when the CAT's away, the mice will play B B see who SAYS A must say B babe see out of the MOUTHS of babes— baby see don't THROW the baby out with the bathwater back . August AV Authorized Version (of the Bible), 1611 c circa (about) cent. century cf. confer (compare) COD Concise Oxford Dictionary Dec. December Dict. dictionary (of) Du. Dutch ed. edition EETS. Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs OED Oxford English Dictionary Pt. part quot. quotation rev. revised Sept. September Ser. series St. Saint STS Scottish Text Society tr. translation (of) US. 1858 Autocrat of Breakfast-Table vi. To these must certainly be added that other saying of one of the wittiest of men: ‘Good Americans, when they die, go to Paris.’ 1894 Woman of no Importance