Arab Proverbs (2)

Birds alight among their like

Birds of a feather flock together

v    

What comes with ease goes with ease.

Easy come, easy go.

v     

Man plans and God manages.

(Man does not attain everything he desires, Winds do not always blow as the vessels wish)Man proposes but God disposes

I hear noise but see no grinding

Much ado about nothing.

v     

When Stomachs are busy minds are lost

Fat paunches have lean pates

v    

The absent may have an excuse.

The absent are always in the wrong.

v     

Too many captains sink the ship. (Too many cooks burn the food)

Too many cooks spoil the broth

v    

Hunger is the best cook.

Appetite furnishes the best sauce.

v     

It’s like selling fish still in the sea

Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched

v    

Rewards fit deeds.

Let the punishment fit the crime.

v     

A wise man will not be bitten from a hole twice

Once bitten, twice shy

v     

Need brings ways.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

v     

Rather a bird in the hand than ten on the tree

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

v     

Send your son to the marketplace and see with whom he associates.

One is known by the company he keeps

v     

A seeker of knowledge and a seeker of money never meet.

The love of money and the love of learning rarely meet.