A dry cough is the trumpeter of death.
Meaning: Persistent coughing, though seemingly minor, signals serious underlying illness requiring immediate medical attention.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- A pennyworth of ease is worth a penny. — Small comforts earned through modest effort repay their cost in improved wellbeing and co…
- Live not to eat, but eat to live. — Prioritize survival and health through eating, rather than making food consumption your l…
- Eat a bit before you drink. — Consuming food before alcohol slows intoxication and prevents impaired judgment from clou…
- Eating and drinking takes away one's appetite. — Indulging excessively in immediate pleasures dulls desire for future satisfaction and gro…
- You cannot hide an eel in a sack. — Obvious truths inevitably reveal themselves despite attempts at concealment, just as a li…
- Rub your sore eye with your elbow. — Attempting the impossible wastes effort; some problems lack practical solutions.
From our idioms
- passer le Rubicon — To make a decisive, irrevocable commitment or choice with serious consequences.
- être de mauvais poil — To be in a bad mood or irritable disposition.
- être à ramasser à la petite cuiller — To be completely exhausted, utterly without strength.