Synonyms:
proverb, adage, saw, byword
Meaning: a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
Usage examples
"All's well that ends well" is a good proverb.
Indeed, the old proverb is again verified: "Where need is greatest, there help is nearest."
Remember the old proverb: 'Whoever steals his neighbor's shirt, usually dies without his own.'"
There is indeed no proverb that tells us that the pig or the goose dreams of being slaughtered.
A proverb well applied, and placed at the end of a phrase, frequently makes a very happy conclusion.
Every proverb has its antagonist proverb, each being true to a certain extent, or in certain relations.
"Oh, my darling, forgive me," said the mother, suddenly remembering that the use of the old proverb at the present moment had been almost cruel.
There is an old proverb that really seems at times to be inspired . . . "it never rains but it pours." The measure of that day's tribulations was not yet full.
Mindful of the old proverb that "In a multitude of counsellors there is wisdom," I place all before my friends, and those of the cat, that they may select which remedy they deem best:
But there is a proverb people use which says, 'To play the prince is hard, to play the minister not easy.' Assuming that it is understood that 'to play the prince is hard,' would it not be probable that with that one sentence the country should be made to prosper?"