Sayings/XYZ

Sayings beginning with X-Z. Select a saying for more details.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink

You can show people the way to find something or to do something, but you cannot force them to act after that.

You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs

Sometimes, when we want to create or achieve something, we must sacrifice or destroy another thing to do it.

You can't take it with you when you die

When we die we leave everything on earth. We don't take anything with us. Even the richest people cannot take their money with them after death. This proverb reminds us that some material or worldly things are not really so valuable as we may think.

You can't tell a book by its cover

You cannot judge what something or someone is like by looking at the exterior.

You don't keep a dog and bark yourself

If you pay someone to do a job, or you have servants to do it, it makes no sense to do the job yourself.

Zeal without prudence is frenzy

If the energy of zeal is not counterbalanced by thought, then it is not zeal but a kind of mental derangement.

Zeal, when it is a virtue, is a dangerous one

According to this saying, "good zeal" cannot exist. It seems that zeal is inherently dangerous. When zeal is not a virtue, by definition it is not good. When zeal is a virtue, according to this saying it is dangerous, which is also not good. This saying relies heavily on paradox for its effect.

Contributor: Josef Essberger