Ask but enough, and you may lower as you list.
Meaning: Open by asking high, and you can always come down as you please.
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
- 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…
- The balance distinguishes not between gold and lead. — A scale measures only weight, so material worth becomes irrelevant when judged by quantit…
- A bald head is soon shaven. — Removing what's already gone requires no effort; unnecessary actions waste time on the im…
From our tongue twisters
- Unique New York. — Three words that jam the 'y/n/k' sequence together — repeat it and it collapses into 'you…
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. — Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Ехал Грека через реку, видит Грека — в реке рак. (Yekhal Greka cherez reku, vidit Greka — v reke rak.) — A rolling 'r/k' drill where Greka, reku and rak keep trading the same two consonants.