Borrowed garments never fit well.
Meaning: Relying on others' solutions or resources inevitably misaligns with your unique circumstances and needs.
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 Perseverance
- Never quit certainty for hope. — Abandoning what you reliably have for uncertain future prospects invites unnecessary loss.
- Who never climbed, never fell. — Avoiding risk entirely guarantees safety but also prevents growth, achievement, and the v…
- Diligence is a good patrimony. — Hard work and industrious habits, inherited or cultivated early, provide more lasting wea…
- Envy never enriched any man. — Coveting others' possessions diverts energy from productive work that builds genuine weal…
- Fault-finders should be fault-menders. — Those quick to criticize others must prove willing to fix problems themselves through act…
- Save me from my friends. — Betrayal by trusted allies causes deeper harm than obvious enemies ever could.
From our tongue twisters
- なまむぎ なまごめ なまたまご (Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago) — A nimble warm-up for the Japanese 'na / ma / ge' syllables.
- Pablito clavó un clavito, ¿qué clavito clavó Pablito? — A bouncy drill on the 'cl' cluster.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.