A pennyworth of ease is worth a penny.
Meaning: Small comforts earned through modest effort repay their cost in improved wellbeing and contentment.
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
- 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.
- Give it plenty of elbow grease. — Sustained physical effort and hard work can overcome obstacles that seem intractable or r…
From our idioms
- péter une baloune — To cause deep disappointment; to shatter someone's illusions or hopes.
- être du propre — Used ironically to criticize something as morally or physically filthy.
- remuer ciel et terre — To exert all possible effort and use every available means to achieve a goal.