No man is his craft's master the first day.
Meaning: Expertise requires sustained practice and time; immediate mastery is impossible regardless of talent or effort.
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
- No man can serve two masters. — Divided loyalty corrupts both commitments; choose one primary allegiance or fail them all.
- Meat is much, but manners is more. — Generosity means little without courtesy; how you give matters more than what you give.
- He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. — A joyful disposition transforms ordinary life into abundance, finding richness in simple…
- As long lives a merry heart as a sad. — A cheerful disposition doesn't shorten lifespan, so choosing joy over sorrow serves your…
- The mob has many heads, but no brains. — Crowds act impulsively without rational deliberation, their collective energy amplifying…
- A fool demands much, but he's a greater that gives it. — Indulging someone's unreasonable requests reveals greater foolishness than making them.
From our tongue twisters
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- 赤パジャマ黄パジャマ茶パジャマ (Aka pajama, ki pajama, cha pajama) — A rapid-fire drill on colour words; the syllable shift from aka/ki/cha trips the tongue b…
- 坊主が屏風に上手に坊主の絵を描いた (Bōzu ga byōbu ni jōzu ni bōzu no e o kaita) — A sustained 'b' and long-vowel drill — bōzu/byōbu/jōzu demand precise mouth control.