Bachelors grin, but married men laugh till their hearts ache.
Meaning: A bachelor's idle grin can't match the fuller joys — and aches — of married life.
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 Challenge
- Bring not a bagpipe to a man in trouble. — Unwanted noise or distraction worsens suffering; provide comfort matching the sufferer's…
- There's no great banquet but some fare ill. — Even at abundance's height, someone's needs remain unmet or dissatisfied.
- A man may bear till his back breaks. — Endless patience and burden-carrying eventually reach a breaking point beyond which colla…
- Bear with evil and expect good. — Enduring hardship with patience and moral steadiness attracts positive outcomes and rewar…
- Beggars on horseback will ride to the devil. — Sudden wealth corrupts those unaccustomed to fortune, driving them toward ruin through ex…
- Begging is an ill trade on a fast-day. — Alms-giving diminishes on religious fast-days when even the charitable are themselves abs…
From our compliments & insults
- Quel râleur / quelle râleuse — You never stop moaning — everything is a complaint, nothing is ever good enough.
- Peau de vache — A mean, difficult, and unpleasant person — tough and unyielding like tanned hide.
- Eres un aguafiestas — You're a killjoy — you pour cold water on everyone's fun the moment you arrive.