Mettle is dangerous in a blind horse.
Meaning: A horse without sight cannot safely channel its spirited strength, making boldness reckless rather than virtuous.
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
- Milk which will not be made into butter must be made into cheese. — When one path to profit closes, resourcefulness demands you pursue an alternative use for…
- I can see as far into a millstone as the picker. — A millstone's opaque interior conceals truth equally from all observers, regardless of th…
- The lower millstone grinds as well as the upper. — Humble, ordinary work produces results as valuable as prestigious labor.
- If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, let Mahomet go to the mountain. — When obstacles won't move, adapt your approach rather than exhaust yourself demanding cha…
- When thy neighbour's house is on fire, be careful of thine own. — Self-preservation requires vigilance when crisis spreads nearby; danger threatening other…
- By doing nothing we learn to do ill. — Idleness creates habits of laziness that make wrongdoing easier than virtuous effort.
From our tongue twisters
- 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。(Sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.) — A pure sì/shí tone drill — the two numbers are near-identical and the tones swap each tim…
- 吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮。(Chī pútao bù tǔ pútao pí, bù chī pútao dào tǔ pútao pí.) — A 'pú/tǔ/pí' drill with reversing logic — the negations flip the meaning as the tongue tr…
- 黑化肥发黑会挥发；灰化肥发灰会挥发。(Hēihuàféi fā hēi huì huīfā; huīhuàféi fā huī huì huīfā.) — A 'hēi/huī/huì/fā' four-tone minefield — the tones alone change every meaning.