Good words cool more than cold water.
Meaning: Kind speech soothes anger and distress more effectively than external comfort ever could.
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 Communication
- Good words fill not a sack. — Eloquent speech alone cannot sustain you; you need material provisions and practical acti…
- Many words will not fill a bushel. — Excessive talk produces nothing tangible; abundance of speech cannot substitute for concr…
- Soft words hurt not the mouth. — Gentle speech costs nothing to speak and risks no harm through careless words.
- Wounds may heal, but not those made by ill words. — Physical injuries fade while harsh speech leaves permanent emotional scars impossible to…
- Say no ill of the year till it is passed. — Withhold judgment on circumstances until their full course concludes, as premature critic…
- Believe well and have well. — Right conduct and virtuous living naturally produce good outcomes and contentment in life.
From our idioms
- Sucrer les fraises — To have trembling hands; by extension, to be doddering.
- Les Anglais ont débarqué — To have one's period.
- S'envoyer en l'air — To have sex.