A pennyworth of mirth is worth a pound of sorrow.
Meaning: Small moments of joy provide disproportionate relief from accumulated grief and hardship.
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 little mischief is too much. — Even small wrongdoings corrupt character and inevitably lead to greater transgressions if…
- Mischiefs come by the pound and go away by the ounce. — Problems accumulate quickly through negligence but dissolve only through sustained, delib…
- Money is more easily made than made use of. — Earning wealth requires less wisdom than spending it prudently without self-destruction.
- The abundance of money ruins youth. — Wealth without struggle strips young people of the resilience and character earned throug…
- Tis money makes the mare to go. — Without financial resources, even the most capable asset remains immobilized and worthles…
- He that hath no money needeth no purse. — Poverty eliminates the burden of safeguarding wealth you don't possess.
From our untranslatable words
- Shemomechama — Eating well past fullness simply because the food is too delicious to stop.
- Prozvonit — To call someone's phone and hang up after one ring, so they call you back and you save th…
- Boketto — Staring off into the distance with your mind pleasantly empty, thinking of nothing at all.