Milk which will not be made into butter must be made into cheese.
Meaning: When one path to profit closes, resourcefulness demands you pursue an alternative use for what you possess.
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
- 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.
- It is more painful to do nothing than something. — Inaction breeds regret and anxiety; taking action—even imperfect action—relieves the torm…
From our idioms
- flash in the pan — A temporary or passing fancy; a fad or attraction that will fade quickly.
- forbidden fruit — Something that one cannot have.
- give someone a taste of his or her own medicine — To treat someone the same way they treat others (especially when they are strict, unfair,…