April and May are the keys of the year.
Meaning: Spring's weather sets the course for the whole year's growth and harvest.
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
- Argus at home, but a mole abroad. — Sharp-eyed over one's own household, yet blind to everything beyond it.
- Ask but enough, and you may lower as you list. — Open by asking high, and you can always come down as you please.
- Ask thy purse what thou shouldst buy. — Let your purse, not your wishes, decide what you can buy.
- The ass that brays most, eats least. — The one who brays loudest often gets the smallest share.
- Every ass thinks himself worthy to stand with the king's horses. — Even fools fancy themselves fit to stand among their betters.
- Be bail and pay for it. — Risking your reputation by vouching for someone unreliable often costs you dearly in the…
From our tongue twisters
- ยักษ์ใหญ่ไล่ยักษ์เล็ก (Yák yài lâi yák lék) — A tonal 'yak / yai / lai / lek' drill that hops across Thai tones in four short beats.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. — A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- Бабин біб розцвів у дощ, буде бабі біб у борщ. (Babyn bib roztsviv u doshch, bude babi bib u borshch.) — A bilabial 'b / bib / bor' drill that ends in a very Slavic splash of borscht.