I'll not change a cottage in possession for a kingdom in reversion.
Meaning: Keeping what you securely own now matters more than chasing uncertain future rewards.
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 Human Nature
- Don't cry out before you're hurt. — Avoid raising alarms or expressing distress prematurely when danger hasn't actually mater…
- Once a use and ever a custom. — Repeated actions solidify into habits that become difficult to break or question.
- They love dancing well that dance among thorns. — Those who find joy in difficult circumstances demonstrate true resilience and optimism.
- He that waits for a dead man's shoes may go long enough barefoot. — Relying on inheritance or another's misfortune for your welfare courts poverty and hardsh…
- What one man despises, another craves. — Individual values differ so radically that one person's rejection becomes another's treas…
- Every man for himself, and God for us all. — Self-interest and communal welfare coexist; individual responsibility doesn't negate coll…
From our tongue twisters
- На дворе трава, на траве дрова. (Na dvore trava, na trave drova.) — A short but nasty 'tr/dr' blend — the consonant clusters that trip up every learner of Ru…
- Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку. (Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku.) — A merciless 'sh/s/ss' collision — Sasha walking, sucking, and all those sibilants.
- Карл у Клары украл кораллы, Клара у Карла украла кларнет. (Karl u Klary ukral korally, Klara u Karla ukrala klarnet.) — A 'kl/kr/r' drama — crime, countercrimes, and consonant clusters all at once.