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Home  »  Dictionary of Quotations  »  Portuguese Proverb

James Wood, comp. Dictionary of Quotations. 1899.

Portuguese Proverb

Better wrong with the many than right with the few.

Birds of prey do not flock together.

Boca de mel, coraçaõ de fel—A tongue of honey, a heart of gall.

Boca que diz sim, diz naõ—The mouth that can say “Yea,” can say “Nay.”

Bole com o rabo o caõ, naõ por ti, senaõ pelo paõ—The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread.

Bons et máos mantem cidade—Good men and bad make a city.

Caõ que muito ladra, nunca bom para a caça—A dog that barks much is never a good hunter.

Cada cousa a seu tempo—Everything has its time.

Cada qual en seu officio—Every one to his trade.

Casar, casar, e que do governo?—Marry, marry, and what of the management of the house?

Casar, casar, soa bem, e sabe mal—Marrying sounds well, but tastes ill.

Change yourself, and your fortune will change too.

Children tell in the highway what they hear by the fireside.

Cobblers go to mass and pray that the cows may die (i.e., for the sake of their hides).

Contas na maõ, e o demonio no coraçaõ—Rosary in the hand, and the devil in the heart.

Coraçaõ determinado, naõ soffre conselho—He brooks no advice whose mind is made up.

Corpo ben feito naõ ha mester capa—A body that is well made needs no cloak.

Cuidar muitas cousas, fazer huma—Think of many things, do only one.

Cuidar naõ he saber—Thinking is not knowing.

Dear is cheap, and cheap is dear.

Despise your enemy and you will soon be beaten.

Don’t quit the highway for a short cut.

Drink nothing without seeing it, sign nothing without reading it.

Every one sings as he has the gift, and marries as he has the luck.

Falla pouco, e bem, ter-te-haô por alguem—Speak little and well; they will take you for somebody.

Fiandeira, fiai manso, que me estorvais, que estou rezando—Spinner, spin quietly, so as not to disturb me; I am praying.

Fit the foot to the shoe, not the shoe to the foot.

Follow the road, and you will come to an inn.

From a closed door the devil turns away.

God has given nuts to some who have no teeth.

Good is the delay that makes sure.

Good management is better than a good income.

He buys very dear who begs.

He doubts nothing who knows nothing.

He has a head, and so has a pin.

I renounce the friend who eats what is mine with me, and what is his own by himself.

It dawns no sooner for one’s early rising.

Let him who gives say nothing, and him who receives speak.

Mãi aguçosa, filha preguiçosa—A busy mother makes slothful daughters.

Make the night night, and the day day, and you will have a pleasant time of it.

No one has seen to-morrow.

Peace with a cudgel in hand is war.

Spinner, spin softly, you disturb me. I am praying.

Under fair words have a care of fraud.