Origin The saying "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" can be traced to as far back as the 15th century. Even though the version during this time was slightly different due to the type of English that was spoken, it still translates to something similar to what … [Read more...]

Origin The proverb, 'blood is thicker than water', is first known to have existed in a German book in the 1180s. Here, blood is said to be 'dicker' (the German word for 'thicker') than water. In 1670, it first appeared in its current English form in a book called 'Proverbs', written by John … [Read more...]

Origin This proverb, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', is said to have originated in Wales in the 1860s. When first used, however, this proverb had a slightly different form. It began, 'eat an apple when going to bed' and then followed this up with 'you will keep the doctor from earning … [Read more...]

Origin In its exact wording, the proverb 'God helps those who help themselves' originates with Algernon Sidney. Sidney was an English political theorist, and his words were later quoted (and made more famous) by Benjamin Franklin in the eighteenth century. However, the sentiment behind this … [Read more...]

Origin. This proverb is often traced back to the Book of Wisdom, an apocryphal book of the Bible which was written in 190 BCE. Though this book does not contain the exact phrase 'haste makes waste' it expresses the general idea that someone who 'maketh haste' actually ends up 'more behind' than … [Read more...]

Origin The exact date of the first usage of this phrase is uncertain. However, the phrase was certainly first used before the 1900s. It originates in the practices of shopkeepers, who often stated that they had a 'first come, first served' policy for their shops. The phrase was sometimes … [Read more...]

Origin of the proverb This proverb was coined by the poet Robert Browning. Browning wrote 'less is more' in his poem 'Andrea del Sarto (Called The Faultless Painter)', which was published in 1855. Meaning 'Less is more' means that very often doing a something small well is better than doing a … [Read more...]

Origin This proverb was coined by the playwright William Shakespeare. In his work, 'Hamlet, Prince of Denmark' (usually dated around 1599), the courtier Polonius says in Act II 'brevity is the soul of wit'. Polonius' character is that of a pedantic person who likes to talk at length and use … [Read more...]

Origin The origin of this proverb is unclear, however the first written instances of 'home is where the heart is' appear in the mid nineteenth century. Perhaps the earliest of all is in a work by Joseph Neal in 1847. However, some people believe that the phrase was said earlier, in the mid … [Read more...]