Green wood makes a hot fire.
Meaning: Unseasoned effort burns intensely but wastefully, consuming energy without producing lasting, efficient results.
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
- Grief pent up will burst the heart. — Unexpressed sorrow accumulates internally until it causes emotional and physical harm.
- The mill cannot grind with the water that is past. — Dwelling on past opportunities wastes energy; focus your effort on present circumstances…
- Better be half hanged than ill wed. — Marriage to the wrong person brings lasting torment worse than a swift, terrible death.
- There are many ways of killing a dog beside hanging him. — Multiple methods exist to achieve the same harmful outcome, so don't fixate on one partic…
- High winds blow on high hills. — Exposure and prominence invite greater adversity and scrutiny than sheltered, ordinary po…
- A hog in armour is still but a hog. — Fine clothing cannot transform base character; inner nature persists regardless of extern…
From our compliments & insults
- Χρυσό μου (Chrysó mou) — My darling — a tender term of endearment.
- Sei un fenomeno — You're amazing — exceptionally good at what you do.
- Eres la leche — You're the best — absolutely fantastic.