
ProverbChallenge
English origin
Begging is an ill trade on a fast-day.
Meaning: Alms-giving diminishes on religious fast-days when even the charitable are themselves abstaining and impoverished.
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.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Tête de linotte A scatterbrain who can't hold a thought.
- Courir sur le haricot To get badly on someone's nerves.
- Tienes menos luces que un barco pirata You're really not the brightest.
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