Great pain and little gain make a man soon weary.
Meaning: Disproportionate effort against meager returns exhausts resolve faster than any physical hardship alone.
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
- Pains are the wages of ill-pleasures. — Suffering naturally follows from indulgences that ignore consequences or moral bounds.
- On painting and fighting look aloof off. — Maintaining distance reveals flaws invisible up close; premature judgment spoils both art…
- Sleep on it; the pillow is the best counsellor. — Delaying decisions allows subconscious processing to clarify confusion that waking worry…
- He can ill pipe that wants his upper lip. — Missing essential tools makes mastery impossible, no matter one's skill or determination.
- To cast oil in the fire is not the way to quench it. — Adding fuel to conflict or anger only intensifies it rather than resolving it.
- The devil can quote Scripture to suit his purpose. — Skilled manipulators exploit truth selectively, twisting knowledge to justify deception.
From our tongue twisters
- Khadak Singh ke khadakne se khadakti hain khidkiyan, khidkiyon ke khadakne se khadakte hain Khadak Singh. — A 'kh/kh/kh' recursive loop — each clause triggers the other, like a rattling chain react…
- Chandu ke chacha ne Chandu ki chachi ko chandi ki chamach se chatni chatayi. — A 'ch' symphony from start to finish — Hindi's palatal affricate in every single word.
- Şu çam sakızı çan sakızı olmuş, çan sakızı şan sakızı olmuş. — A 'ş/ç/şan/çan' duel — Turkish's two close sibilants at war with each other.