English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate » Unit 98: Proverbs

Word List
  • proverb
Exercises

98.1 ‣ Find proverbs on the opposite page that you could use in these situations.

  1. Someone says they have just been offered a free two-week holiday, but are hesitating whether to take up the offer.
  2. Someone thanks you and your friends for helping to load heavy boxes into a van.
    _____
  3. Someone says they can't be bothered applying to different universities and will just apply to one.
    _____
  4. Three different people have made different arrangements for the same meeting, and so everyone comes at different times and the result is total confusion.
    _____
  5. Someone is worried about a journey you are making with them and keeps saying things like 'What'll happen if the plane is delayed?', 'What'll we do if our luggage gets lost?'
    _____

98.2 ‣ Answer these questions about the proverbs on the opposite page. Give an explanation for your answer.

  1. Another common proverb is All that glitters is not gold. Which proverb has a similar meaning?
  2. Which proverb has an opposite meaning to Many hands make light work?
    _____
  3. Another common proverb is Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Which proverb has an opposite meaning?
    _____
  4. Which two proverbs warn against anticipating the future?
    _____
  5. Another common proverb is A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Which proverb has a similar meaning?
    _____

98.3 ‣ People often refer to proverbs by only saying half of them and leaving the rest for the listener to ‘fill in’. Complete the proverbs in these dialogues.

  1. A: Joel's always criticising people who are selfish, yet he's terribly selfish himself.
    B: Yes, well, people who live in glass houses .
    A: Exactly.
  2. A: The people in the office have been playing computer games all day since the boss fell ill.
    B: Well, you know what they say: when the cat's away, _____.
    A: Right, and they're currently doing that.
  3. A: I didn't believe those rumours about Nick and Tara, but apparently they are seeing each other.
    B: You shouldn't be so naive, you know what they say, where there's smoke, _____.
    A: Mm, I suppose you're right.
  4. A: Amazing, he's made a fortune from just one little shop!
    B: Well, I think it's a case of take care of the pennies _____.
    A: Sure, he's always been very careful with his money.

98.4 ‣ What proverbs do these pictures make you think of?



  2. _____

  3. _____

  4. _____

98.5 ‣

Over to you

Try translating some proverbs word for word from your language into English. Then, if you can, ask a native speaker if they can tell you an English proverb with the same or a similar meaning.
Answer Key
A ‣ Advice and warnings

proverbparaphrase
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.Don't anticipate the future too much.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.Don't invest all your efforts or attention in just one thing.
Never judge a book by its cover.Don't judge people/things by their outward appearance.
Never look a gift-horse in the mouth.Never refuse good fortune when it is there in front of you.
Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.Take care of small sums of money and they will become large sums.
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.We'll deal with that problem when it actually happens.

B ‣ Key elements

Proverbs can be grouped by 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 that all will be well; a swallow is a bird that returns to Britain in late spring]

C ‣ Visualising

As with learning all vocabulary, visualising an element of it often helps.


  1. There's no smoke without fire. / Where there's smoke, there's fire. [rumours are usually based on some degree of truth]

  2. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. [ don't criticise others' faults if you suffer from them yourself]

  3. Too many cooks spoil the broth /brɒθ/. [ too many people interfering is a bad way of doing things; broth = a kind of soup]

  4. Many hands make light work. [a lot of people helping makes a job easier]

Language help

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.

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