When I was a kid, I had a lot of phrases thrown at me, when I was making some kind of mistakes.
I mean who would come with phrases like you know slow and steady wins the race or you
know absence makes the heart grow fonder. You know all these kind of phrases, you were
a small kid, you will obviously get confused. Now when I've actually grown up, I kind of
think about all those phrases that my elders threw at me and I kind of find it interesting.
Now you must be thinking what we're gonna discuss in this lesson. We’re actually going
to discuss proverbs. Alright, now proverbs just as an introduction, I would definitely
say that as a definition, that proverbs are phrases that actually come through experience.
Okay, there are people who make mistakes, who learn from their mistakes and they form
these phrases so that they kind of warn their young ones not to make the same mistakes again.
Hi everyone, I'm Riya and today's lesson is all going to be about proverbs alright.
So on the board, we're going to use some interesting or we are going to see some interesting English
proverbs that we can use in our daily lives.
Alright, now haste makes waste. You might not have heard about this one. Okay, haste
makes waste actually means that rushing will only spoil things, okay. This proverb means
that rushing will only spoil things, alright. Well, for example, okay when you're making
a dish alright and you're actually rushing with it. You’re just putting it all the
spices and probably some kind of vegetables and trying to make it all in a haste. You
will actually spoil your recipe. You will actually spoil the dish that you're making.
Okay, it is always advised never to rush into things. Okay, so when you're going to advise
someone about not rushing. You can always use the phrase or the proverb, haste makes
waste meaning that if you're doing something if you're doing an activity or doing a routine.
Okay, rushing will only spoil it, okay. So it's better to take your time, think about
it and do it accordingly as per the routine, alright. So that is what haste makes waste
means.
Moving to the second one, you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Okay, if you
are familiar with these words, honey is something very sweet. Okay, and vinegar is something
that is probably very sour. Okay, so now this phrase actually means that you can lure more
people with sweeter words than sour ones, isn't that true? Alright if somebody speaks
to you in a very sweet manner, in a soft manner, aren't you interested to do something for
that person? And if someone comes around and starts shouting at you, that you have to do
this and you have to do that. Will you actually follow it? Definitely not. Okay, so it's how
you speak, you will get the other person to do something for you. This is how the phrase
is being used. Okay, you're going to lure more people to do things for you. So you can
catch more flies with honey than vinegar. now, this is a phrase to use, okay if somebody
is really mean to you and is trying to get work done out of you and you know is being
absolutely mean. You can always use this phrase by saying; you can catch more flies with honey
than with vinegar. The person will get the message. Yes, that's about this proverb.
Moving on to the third one, rolling stones gather no moss. Okay rolling stones gather
no moss. Can you visualize it? Okay rolling stones, so probably in a river, you have stones
that are going with the flow. Okay with the flow of the river. Okay in comparison to a
stone that is actually sitting on the bed. Okay on the bed of the river. There are some
stones that are just rolling away, okay. Now a very good example comes to my mind. Okay
now in this situation, let me define it first. Now people who are, okay, people who are impatient.
Okay people who are impatient do not succeed. Okay people who are impatient do not actually
succeed. Okay, now I’ll tell you, I'll tell you how this works. Now, if the stones are
moving on quickly. Okay now with the stones, refer to a person who is hopping jobs, okay.
Just for a measly amount, Okay you might be earning a few more dollars, a few more rupees
at some other job. So you are hopping jobs. You’re not actually stabilizing yourself
at one place. Okay, so people who are moving on or hopping around in their jobs. They are
actually firstly they are very impatient and secondly they are not able to grasp, okay
what is actually required in their job. Okay in comparison to those people who stick in
one place. They learn all that they have to learn. okay and that is how you compare it
to stone that is embedded, okay on the river, on the river bank and it gets this beautiful
green moss on it. Okay this is all through time, okay. This proverb actually shows the
importance of time, okay. The more you hop from job to job, is the more you're going
to not learn things. Okay you're already impatient okay and you're not going to learn the things
that you're supposed to learn over time. In comparison to a person who sticks to a job
and who learns things very, very slowly, okay. So this one is actually used for very, very
impatient people. Yes, alright.
Now going on to the 4th one. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I'm sure you
know this was created in the ancient times. Okay a chain, just keep that in mind, okay.
Now defining this. You have a chain, okay and you are strong as the weakest link. Okay,
so a group or a team. A group or a team is as strong as the weakest member. Now imagine
a team of cricket players. Okay I know, I know you, boys, out there must be loving cricket,
okay. Now out of all the players, there's one who's not as strong as the rest of them.
Okay just because one is not strong, the coach is not actually, he's not worried about it,
that you know one of the members is not as strong. It actually can be hazardous for the
team. Okay, that one member can create a lot of problems and because of that one member,
the team can actually lose. Okay, so every member is very, very important in that team.
Same as with any organization, with any company, okay everybody is important. Okay, they form
parts of a chain. Now if you're wearing a chain, very literal example, you're wearing
a chain, if one link is a little weak, obviously it will break very easily and you'll lose
your chain. Okay, now that is a literal meaning and this how you have to remember it. Now
if something happens, okay in a team if there is a person who's not working as hard and
if you see that your team leader is not actually worried about it, you better tell your team
leader that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Okay, I hope you understand
this proverb.
Going on to the next one, a house divided against itself cannot stand. I have an emotional
attachment to this one. I think this is very, very important. This was first used in the
Bible, in the Holy Bible and it was later, okay it was later used by Sir Abraham Lincoln,
okay the former President of the United States. He used this proverb in 1858, okay. A house
divided against itself cannot stand. Very visual, okay you have a house. Alright, it's
based on a foundation, okay if you break the house. Will it, I mean, is it going to stand?
Are you able to keep those two halves you know standing still? Okay, what do you take
out of it? I mean do you think, this is going to talk about a physical house. No, it actually
talks about family relations, okay it talks about family relations. Now you have a beautiful
family, once you start dividing, okay the pillars, once you start dividing them, the
house is not going to stand, okay. This is a very beautiful thought that is used is our
Indian culture. Okay, we actually emphasize on this, that everybody has to stick together.
The pillars have to be together so that the house is actually standing. in depends on
cultures as well and how they live but this was a very beautiful proverb, you know that
was shown in the Holy Bible and later was used by Sir Abraham Lincoln that you know
a house divided against itself cannot stand. Now if your family has these kind of problems
or your friends even. You know a group of really good friends are having problems like
these, you can always use this phrase that a house divided against itself cannot actually
stand. Okay, this is the most important phrase to use.
So I hope you've previous proverbs. Now let's just see some others. Okay, some other interesting
proverbs that we can use in our daily conversation. Okay, now first, okay the next one is learn
till old, live till old and there's still one third not learnt. Now this one is a Chinese
one. Okay, learn till old, live till old and there’s still one third not learnt, actually
means that, you can keep on learning, okay till you die. That’s an interesting one,
right? We can learn as many things as possible, still, you might not have learnt everything.
Okay, you might have just learnt one third or just a bit of what you're supposed to learn.
Okay, learning is endless. Alright now, this proverb is used so that you encourage yourself,
okay you push yourself to learn more and more. This life even though we might say is the
longest thing that there is but still we're not able to grasp everything that this world,
this universe has to offer. Now whenever you need to advise a small kid or anybody who
does not want to learn as much or is thinking of stopping or putting a ceiling on their
learning process, you can always say that, please learn till old, live till old and there's
still one third not learnt. That means you have to learn as much as possible, alright.
The next one we have is well begun is half done. Okay very simply, have a great start.
okay, now when you're starting your project, okay if you're well prepared, okay and you
have like an absolutely great start, okay instead of just you know just making small
start, if you have a very strong, you know where you initialize something, the work is
already done or it's almost done. Okay, you just need to do the finishing touches. Alright,
this is a very good proverb to use, alright. You can always advise someone, okay when somebody
is initializing a project or starting up a project, always tell that person, be well
prepared, okay. Make a very, very informed and an absolutely great start, so that the
project is almost done. Alright, so that is how we will use this proverb.
Okay going with the next one. Now you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it
drink. This is actually an interesting one. Okay, this is that a person needs to make
his own efforts. Okay, now you can give a lot of money to somebody, you can buy a person
a Lamborghini or a Ferrari but that person can only drive it if he or she makes the initiative
to learn it, okay. This is a very good phrase to use actually, alright. You might give somebody
everything. Okay, you might be as rich as anything and give everything to your child
but your child would only better utilize it if or she learns okay. Like for example learns
how to drive a car. Okay, you might give as much money for somebody's tuitions fees but
what use is it, if that person is actually not learning anything or not educating himself
or herself. Okay, so this proverb is used okay to help someone to initialize, to make
efforts, okay, to put in efforts to do something. Okay, not everything can be done by someone
else for you. Okay, you cannot be spoon-fed, you have to make the effort by yourself as
well. Now I hope you have enjoyed learning and listening to these proverbs, useful proverbs
that you can use in your absolutely daily lives. Okay that you've enjoyed it and this
is Riya signing off, till then I hope you keep on learning, thank you.