| |
| Boil not the pap until the child is born. | 1 |
| Don’t climb the hill until you get to it. | 2 |
| Don’t cry fried fish before they are caught. Italian. | 3 |
| Don’t cry herrings till they are in the net. Dutch. | 4 |
| Don’t cry hurrah till you’re over the bridge. German, Dutch. | 5 |
| Don’t curse the crocodile’s mother before you cross the river. West African. | 6 |
| Don’t divide the spoil until the victory is won. Tamil. | 7 |
| Don’t fly till your wings are feathered. German. | 8 |
| Don’t halloo until you are out of the wood. | 9 |
| Don’t pick me up before I fall down. | 10 |
| Don’t sell the bear skin before you have killed the bear. Italian, German, Dutch. | 11 |
| Don’t snap your fingers at the dog before you are out of the village. French. | 12 |
| Don’t sing your triumph before you have conquered. Latin. | 13 |
| Don’t throw away your dirty water till you have got clean. Irish. | 14 |
| Don’t throw away your old shoes till you have got new ones. Dutch. | 15 |
| Do not strip before bed-time. French. | 16 |
| Gut nae fish till ye git them. | 17 |
| He counts his chickens before they are hatched. Dutch. | 18 |
| He cries out before he is hurt. Italian. | 19 |
| He passes sentence before he hears the evidence. | 20 |
| He wants to fly before he has wings. Dutch. | 21 |
| It will not do to keep holidays before they come. French. | 22 |
To swallow gudgeons ere they’re catched,
And count their chickens ere they’re hatched. Butler. | 23 |
| To take physic before one is sick. | 24 |
| You cry out before you are hurt. | 25 |
| You halt before you are lame. | 26 |
| You take me up before I am down. | 27 |
| We have no son and yet are giving him a name. | 28 |
| |
