Fancy goes a long way.
Meaning: Appearing impressive through style and presentation can achieve considerable success, even without substance.
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
- Fast bind, fast find. — Securing something firmly makes retrieving it later swift and effortless.
- Fine feathers make fine birds. — Outward appearance and presentation significantly influence how others perceive and judge…
- Forbearance is no acquittance. — Patience with wrongdoing doesn't erase the debt or obligation owed; tolerance isn't forgi…
- Forbidden fruit is sweet. — Desire intensifies for what we're prohibited from having, making the forbidden alluringly…
- Forced fruits fail in flavour. — Artificial acceleration of growth produces inferior results lacking the quality time natu…
- Eaten bread is soon forgotten. — Past favors fade from memory unless gratitude is cultivated and reinforced through contin…
From our tongue twisters
- Четыре чёрненьких чумазеньких чертёнка чертили чёрными чернилами чертёж. (Chetyre chyornenkikh chumazenkikh chertyonka chertili chyornymi chernilami chertyozh.) — Seven consecutive words built on 'ch' — Russian's ч in every stressed position with barel…
- 红鲤鱼与绿鲤鱼与驴 (Hóng lǐyú yǔ lǜ lǐyú yǔ lǘ) — lǐ, lǜ and lǘ differ only by vowel rounding and tone — nine syllables that all collapse t…
- 八百标兵奔北坡，炮兵并排北边跑。(Bābǎi biāobīng bēn běipō, pàobīng bìngpái běibian pǎo.) — A pure b-versus-p drill, separating Mandarin's unaspirated b from its aspirated p.