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| A blemish may be taken out of a diamond by careful polishing, but if your words have the least blemish there is no way to efface it. Chinese. | 1 |
| A common word is always correct. Polish. | 2 |
| A deluge of words and a drop of sense. | 3 |
| A good word always finds its man. German. | 4 |
| A good word extinguishes more than a pail full of water. Spanish. | 5 |
| A good word for a bad one is worth much and costs little. Italian. | 6 |
| A good word is as soon said as a bad one. | 7 |
| A good word stills great anger. German. | 8 |
| A kind word leads the cow into the stable. | 9 |
| A spoken word is silver, an unspoken one gold. German. | 10 |
| A spoken word will not be called back. German. | 11 |
| A word and a stone let go cannot be called back. | 12 |
| A word before is worth two after. | 13 |
| A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Bible. | 14 |
| A word hurts more than a wound. | 15 |
| A word in earnest is as good as a speech. Dickens. | 16 |
| A word isn’t a bird, if it flies out you’ll never catch it again. Russian. | 17 |
| A word is sufficient between man and man. Hans Andersen. | 18 |
| A word is worth a dollar, silence two. German. | 19 |
| A word once out flies anywhere. French. | 20 |
| A word once sent abroad flies irrevocably. Horace. | 21 |
| A word spoken in season, at the right moment, is the mother of ages. Carlyle. | 22 |
| A word spoken is an arrow let fly. | 23 |
| A word to the wise is sufficient. Latin. | 24 |
| A word unreasonably spoken may mar the course of a whole life. Greek. | 25 |
| A word uttered may bring wealth as well as ruin. Tamil. | 26 |
| Ae ill word meets anither an it were at the brig of London. | 27 |
| All food is good to eat but all words are not fit to speak. | 28 |
| An acute word cuts deeper than a sharp weapon. | 29 |
| An unkind word falls easily from the tongue but a coach with six horses cannot bring it back. Chinese. | 30 |
| Bad words find bad acceptance. | 31 |
| Bad words make a woman worse. | 32 |
| Bare words buy no barley. | 33 |
| Better a good word than a battle. | 34 |
| Better break your word than do worse in keeping it. | 35 |
| Better one living word than a hundred dead ones. Dutch. | 36 |
| Better one word in time than two after. | 37 |
| Big words seldom go with good deeds. Danish. | 38 |
| Changes o’ words are lightening o’ hearts. | 39 |
| Cool words scald not the tongue. | 40 |
| David did not slay Goliah with words. Icelandic. | 41 |
| Deliver not your words by number but by weight. | 42 |
| Evil words corrupt good manners. Dutch. | 43 |
| Fair words and foul play cheat both young and old. | 44 |
| Fair words break no bones, but foul words many a one. | 45 |
| Fair words, but look to your purse. Italian. | 46 |
| Fair words butter no parsnips. | 47 |
| Fair words don’t fill the pockets. | 48 |
| Fair words fill not the belly nor mind always. | 49 |
| Fair words make me look at my purse. | 50 |
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| Fair words please the fool and sometimes the wise. Danish. | 51 |
| Fair words will never pluck out the tongue. French. | 52 |
| Fair words won’t feed a cat. Italian. | 53 |
| Fair words won’t fill the sack. Dutch, Danish. | 54 |
| Faithful are the words of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. | 55 |
| Few words are best. | 56 |
| Few words darken speech and so do too many. Ben Jonson. | 57 |
| Few words, many deeds. | 58 |
| Few words sufficeth to a wise man. | 59 |
| Fine words will not keep a cat from starving. | 60 |
| Fine words without deeds go not far. Danish. | 61 |
| Foolish ears need sharp words. Dutch. | 62 |
| For mad words deaf ears. | 63 |
| Good words and bad deeds deceive both wise and simple. Spanish, Portuguese. | 64 |
| Good words and no deeds are rushes and reeds. | 65 |
| Good words are better than bad strokes. Shakespeare. | 66 |
| Good words cool more than cold water. | 67 |
| Good words cost no more than bad. | 68 |
| Good words cost nothing but are worth much. | 69 |
| Good words fill not a sack. | 70 |
| Half a word to the wise is enough. Dutch. | 71 |
| He keeps his word as the sun keeps butter. Dutch. | 72 |
| Ill words are bellows to a slackening fire. | 73 |
Immodest words admit of no defence,
For want of decency is want of sense. Roscommon. | 74 |
| It is bitter fare to eat one’s own words. Danish. | 75 |
| It takes many words to fill a sack. Danish. | 76 |
| Kind words don’t wear out the tongue. Danish. | 77 |
| Kind words heal friendship’s wounds. Danish. | 78 |
| Let no word escape you unsuitable to the occasion. Pericles. | 79 |
| Let thy words be few. Bible. | 80 |
| Many words, an unsound heart. Turkish. | 81 |
| Many words hurt more than swords. | 82 |
| Many words, little work. German. | 83 |
| More is done with words than with hands. German. | 84 |
| No word is ill spoken that is not ill taken. Portuguese. | 85 |
| Of big words and feathers many go to the pound. German. | 86 |
| One good word quenches more heat than a bucket of water. Italian. | 87 |
| One honest word is better than two oaths. Turkish. | 88 |
| One ill word asketh another. | 89 |
| One word before is better than ten afterwards. Danish. | 90 |
| One word brings on another. Italian. | 91 |
| Pleasant words are valued and do not cost much. Italian. | 92 |
| Smooth words do not flay the tongue. Italian. | 93 |
| Smooth words make smooth ways. | 94 |
| Soft words break no bones. | 95 |
| Soft words don’t scratch the tongue. French. | 96 |
| Soft words hurt not the mouth. | 97 |
| Soft words warm friends, bitter words lasting enemies. | 98 |
| Sometimes words hurt worse than swords. | 99 |
| Sugared words generally prove bitter. Spanish. | 100 |
| Sweet words butter no parsnips. | 101 |
| Take a horse by his bridle and a man by his word. Dutch. | 102 |
| Take a man by his word and a cow by her horns. French. | 103 |
| The spoken word cannot be swallowed. Russian. | 104 |
| The word goes from the lips and passes to thousands. Modern Greek. | 105 |
| The word impossible, is not in my dictionary. Napoleon. | 106 |
| The word that has escaped thee is thy master, that which you retain thy slave. French. | 107 |
| The words of the good are like a staff in a slippery place. Hindu. | 108 |
| To rude words deaf ears. French. | 109 |
| Twix’t the word and the deed there’s a long step. French. | 110 |
| Under fair words beware of fraud. Portuguese. | 111 |
| Use soft words and hard arguments. | 112 |
| We should be as careful of our words as of our actions. Cicero. | 113 |
| What harm is there in a good word, it costs nothing? German. | 114 |
What you keep by you you may change and mend,
But words once spoken can never be recalled. Roscommon. | 115 |
| When the word is out it belongs to another. | 116 |
| When the words are said the holy water’s made. French. | 117 |
| When you give others ill words you rail at yourself. | 118 |
| Wise words and great seldom agree. | 119 |
| With words to combat ill befits the brave. Homer. | 120 |
| Words and feathers are tossed by the wind. | 121 |
| Words are but empty thanks. Cibber. | 122 |
| Words are but sands, ’tis money buys lands. | 123 |
| Words are female, deeds are male. Italian. | 124 |
| Words are good when works follow. German. | 125 |
| Words are men’s daughters, but God’s sons are things. Johnson. | 126 |
Words are like leaves and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found. Pope. | 127 |
| Words are the voice of the heart. Confucius. | 128 |
| Words are the wings of action. Lavater. | 129 |
| Words are women, deeds are men. Herbert. | 130 |
| Words don’t fill the belly. Portuguese. | 131 |
| Words fine and bold, are goods half sold. German. | 132 |
| Words of snow which fell last year. German. | 133 |
| Words often do more than blows. German. | 134 |
| Words once spoken cannot be wiped out with a sponge. Danish. | 135 |
| Words show the wit of a man, but actions his meaning. | 136 |
| Words spoken in the evening the wind carrieth away. (In the heat of conviviality men talk carelessly.) | 137 |
| Words will not do for my aunt for she does not put faith even in deeds. Spanish. | 138 |
| Words without thoughts never to heaven go. Shakespeare. | 139 |
| Words won’t feed cats. Italian. | 140 |
| You may gain by fair words, what may fail you by angry ones. Danish. | 141 |
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