Well, Frank, where there's smoke there's fire.
Hi everyone, in this video we're going to look at some very common
English proverbs. A proverb is a short statement that gives advice
or expresses a belief that many people think is true. Most expressions that are
considered proverbs have existed for quite a long time.
Before we start, remember that you can also follow me on social media,
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The first one is: Beggars can't be choosers.
A beggar is a poor person who asks people for money or food, normally
in the street. "Chooser" isn't actually a very common word, but
I think the meaning is quite obvious. It's simply a person who
chooses something. People say this if they recognise
that they need to accept something, because it is the only option
available to them. It's when somebody isn't in a position to be fussy.
For example, if somebody is really desperate for a job,
they might say: The job isn't very well paid,
but I accepted it because beggars can't be choosers. Another example:
This isn't my dream car, but it's all I can afford,
and beggars can't be choosers. The second one is:
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
This is sometimes shortened to: The grass is always greener
on the other side. And most of the time we shorten it
even more and we just say: The grass is always greener.
This means that a different situation might
seem better than the one you're currently in,
but it probably isn't better.
And here's a visual representation. This cow seems to think that the grass
on the other side of the barbed wire fence is better than the grass on its side.
For example, you might say: I wish I had Mary's job.
She's always travelling so much. And then someone could say to you:
Yes, but her job's probably quite stressful
and she may wish she had a job similar to yours.
The grass is always greener The next one is:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Here "ain't" means "is not".
Another thing to be aware of is that "broke"
in this sentence is grammatically incorrect.
It should be "broken", but in this proverb we always say "broke". So
this sentence means: If it isn't broken, don't fix it. This means that if
something is working well, there is no need to change it.
For example, in a workplace someone could say:
Why is the new manager changing everything? The old systems worked just
fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I don't know about you, but I sometimes
have this feeling with computer programs or websites when they
make unnecessary updates. Like Skype,
for example. They keep changing things and
it's annoying. And now we have: A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step. This apparently comes from
a Chinese proverb. I think the meaning is quite obvious.
It means that even big, overwhelming tasks
have a starting point. It's often used to encourage people who are afraid of
starting something because it's overwhelming. It's a bit
like saying: You need to start somewhere.
Or: Just start by doing something small.
For example, if somebody wants to learn a language and they're
scared to start, you could say: Well, a journey of a
thousand miles begins with a single step. You could start by watching YouTube
videos for beginners, or looking for a teacher, or
learning some basic grammar. I think you get the idea. This one is:
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
You can also say: People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. This basically
means don't be a hypocrite. In other words, you
shouldn't criticise people for having faults that you have
or for doing things that you do. Sometimes we shorten this and we just
say something like: Well, people in glass houses.
Or we might say: You know what they say about people in glass houses. For example,
if Frank says that Ethel was drinking too much
at the party, I could say to him: Well, Frank, you know what they say about
people in glass houses. The next one is: Practice make perfect.
I think the meaning of this is pretty obvious.
It simply means the more you practise
something, the better you will get. It doesn't mean
you'll learn to do something 100% perfectly. For example,
nobody, not even native speakers, speak a language perfectly because
everybody makes mistakes sometimes, but generally speaking,
if you practise something, you will become better at it.
If Frank is complaining because he keeps falling off his skateboard,
I could say: Well, Frank, practice makes perfect. Or if George says that he
finds it hard to ignore marketing people in the street,
I could say: Well, George, practice makes perfect.
George is a bit too polite sometimes. And now we have: Time is money.
This means that time is a valuable resource,
so we shouldn't waste it. People usually say it if they want
somebody to hurry up, particularly in a business
context. For example, if you're at work and you're
mucking around with your colleagues, your boss might come by and say:
Come on, guys. Time is money.
This one is: Two heads are better than one.
This means that two people working together
to solve a problem will be more effective than
one person working alone. For example, if you're looking at a financial
document and it's a bit confusing, you might say
to a family member: I don't really
understand this. Could you have a look at it with me?
Two heads are better than one. I think this statement's true. Except if
it's a university group assignment.
Then you should just do it yourself.
The next one is: Waste not, want not.
This one means that if you don't waste things,
you will always have enough. Here "want" actually means "lack".
It's a little formal and old-fashioned to use
"want" like this, but people sometimes still use it that way.
So this proverb means if you're not wasteful,
you won't lack things. For example, you could say:
I always save leftover food for later because
waste not, want not. Obviously if you're not frequently throwing away
food, you will save money. It's also better for the environment.
The next one is: A watched pot never boils.
This one is essentially about impatience.
You know how sometimes you might put some water in a pot
and then put it on the stove, and you need to wait for the water to boil
before you can put food in it? So you stand there watching it and
it seems to take forever? Well, that's the idea
in this proverb. It means that if you're impatient for something to happen,
it will seem to take longer. Something that I think a lot of people can relate
to is sending a message to somebody who
you're interested in romantically. You might then check your
phone constantly to see if they've replied.
If you're doing that, someone might say to you: A watched pot never boils.
This one is: Where there's smoke there's fire.
This means that if something bad is being said
about something or someone, or if rumours are being spread, there's probably an
element of truth there. It might not be entirely true,
but it's probably partly true. For example, if there's a rumour going
around that Frank caused some arguments in a bar
and he says that none of it happened, I could say:
Well, Frank, where there's smoke there's fire.
The last one is: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
This one means that you can give somebody the opportunity to do something,
but you can't force them to do it if they don't want to.
Normally we just say: You can only lead a horse to water.
Sometimes teachers think this when they're in a classroom.
For example, if you give your students very
simple homework or if you make suggestions on how they could perhaps
improve their skills, and then they don't do it,
you could say: You can only lead a horse to water.
I hope you're not one of those students.
Another example is if somebody hosts a
party with food, and they put out knives and forks,
but then people like me just eat with
their fingers, that person could say: You can only lead a horse to water.
I hope you found that helpful.
I hope you learned something. If you did, please hit the thumbs up.
Let me know in the comments if any of these proverbs exist
in your language, or if there are any close
equivalents. Thanks very much for watching, guys. I'll see you next time.