A man must plough with such oxen as he hath.
Meaning: Work effectively with available resources rather than wasting energy wishing for better tools or circumstances.
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 Human Nature
- Poor folk are glad of pottage. — Those with little resources find contentment in simple sustenance rather than lamenting t…
- Poverty makes a man acquainted with strange bed-fellows. — Difficult circumstances force people to associate with those they'd normally avoid or rej…
- Pride goes before, and shame follows after. — Arrogance blinds you to consequences until failure humbles you publicly.
- A heavy purse makes a light heart. — Wealth alleviates worries and anxiety, allowing people to experience contentment and peac…
- Fools always come short of their reckoning. — Fools underestimate consequences and costs, discovering too late they lack resources for…
- Riches are but the baggage of fortune. — Wealth is a burden that fortune carries, not a permanent possession you truly own.
From our tongue twisters
- El cielo está enladrillado, ¿quién lo desenladrillará? — A brutal test of the rolled 'r' and 'l'.
- Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid. — A 'bl' / 'br' brain-twister.
- Trentatré trentini entrarono a Trento tutti e trentatré trotterellando. — An unbroken stampede of 'tr' and 't'.