Judge not a ship as she lies on the stocks.
Meaning: Don't evaluate a vessel's true worth until it's launched and tested at sea.
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
- He tied a knot with his tongue he couldn't undo with his teeth. — Careless words spoken in haste create consequences far harder to retract than they were t…
- Laws catch flies, but let hornets go free. — Powerful people evade justice through legal loopholes while the powerless are punished fo…
- He lies as fast as a dog can trot. — Persistent deceit flows so naturally that the liar never pauses or hesitates in their fal…
- Life lies not in living, but in liking. — Contentment and satisfaction matter more than mere existence or the accumulation of exper…
- Listeners never hear good of themselves. — Eavesdroppers discover harsh truths because people speak candidly when unobserved, unlike…
- Whom we love best to them we can say least. — Deepest affection often leaves us tongue-tied, unable to fully express what we feel most…
From our tongue twisters
- Capra neagră sare piatra, piatra-i neagră, capra-i albă. — A rapid 'c/pr/n' alternation that gains speed — and the colour-swap at the end trips the…
- Μια πάπια μα ποια πάπια; μια πάπια με παπιά στα παγωμένα νερά. (Mia papia ma pia papia; mia papia me papia sta pagomena nera.) — A 'pa/pi/pag' drill — the near-identical syllables pile up while the image stays perfectl…
- Appilan pappilan apupapin papupata pankolla kiehuu ja kuohuu. — A relentless 'pap/pap/pu' bilabial drill stacked with Finnish double consonants.