Once a thief, always a thief
Meaning: Criminal habits become ingrained character traits difficult to overcome through reformation.
Origin: A long-standing saying that people don't change their nature, with equivalents in many languages. Its first English use hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch — Corruption spreads contagiously; a single morally compromised person can undermine an ent…
- On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog — Online anonymity removes social accountability, allowing anyone to misrepresent themselve…
- Other days, other ways — Circumstances change, so rigid adherence to past methods becomes foolish; adapt your appr…
- Pitchers have ears — Small vessels amplify sound, so careless words spoken nearby may reach unintended listene…
- Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely — Unchecked authority inevitably erodes moral judgment, making total control the most dange…
- Proverbs should go in pairs — Wisdom gains strength through comparison; a single example proves less convincing than tw…
From our untranslatable words
- Drachenfutter — A peace-offering gift brought home to a partner after staying out too late or doing somet…
- Verschlimmbessern — To make something worse in a well-intentioned attempt to improve it.
- Sturmfrei — The liberating feeling of having the house entirely to yourself — when parents or a partn…