ProverbWisdom
English origin
English originOne woodcock does not make a winter.
Meaning: A single favorable occurrence cannot establish a lasting pattern or justify confident predictions about the future.
Origin: Woodcocks arrive in Britain from the north in autumn, so the first one sighted seemed to herald winter — but one bird proves nothing. It is a cold-weather twin of "one swallow does not make a summer," and Welsh has the same saying, un cyffylog ni wna aeaf.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Zehn zahme Ziegen ziehen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo. A sustained 'z' / 'ts' drill — every word starts with the same affricate.
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