Page 173 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

Proverbs

Speakers tend to use proverbs to comment on a situation, often at the end of a true story
someone has told, or in response to some event. As with all idiomatic expressions, they are
useful and enjoyable to know and understand, but should be used with care.

Warnings/advice/moraIs - do's and don'ts

1 proverb paraphrase

Don't count your chickens - Don't anticipate the future
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. -
too much.
before they're hatched.
Don't invest all your efforts.
or attention in just one thing.
Never judge a book by its cover. - Don't judge peoplelthings by
Never look a gift horse in the mouth. -
their outward appearance.
Never refuse good fortune when
Take care of the pence and the -
it is there in front of you.
Take care of small sums of money
pounds will take care of themselves. and they will become large sums.

Key elements

Proverbs can also be grouped by some key elements, for example, animals and birds.
When the cat's away, the mice will play. [people will take advantage of someone else's
absence to behave more freely]
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. [you can try to persuade
someone, but you can't force them]
One swallow doesn't make a summer. [one positive sign does not mean all will be well]

Visualising
As with learning all vocabulary, visualising some element often helps.

There's no smoke without fire. [rumours Too many cooks spoil the broth. [too many
are usually based on some degree of truth] people interfering is a bad way of doing things]

People who live in glass houses shouldn't Many hands make light work. [a lot of people
throw stones. [don't criticise others' helping makes a job easier]
faults if you suffer from. them yourself]

English Vocabulary in Use