Poor folk are glad of pottage.
Meaning: Those with little resources find contentment in simple sustenance rather than lamenting their lack.
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
- Poverty makes a man acquainted with strange bed-fellows. — Difficult circumstances force people to associate with those they'd normally avoid or rej…
- Pride goes before, and shame follows after. — Arrogance blinds you to consequences until failure humbles you publicly.
- A heavy purse makes a light heart. — Wealth alleviates worries and anxiety, allowing people to experience contentment and peac…
- Fools always come short of their reckoning. — Fools underestimate consequences and costs, discovering too late they lack resources for…
- Riches are but the baggage of fortune. — Wealth is a burden that fortune carries, not a permanent possession you truly own.
- Scald not your lips in another man's pottage. — Don't suffer harm by meddling in others' affairs or accepting their risky situations as y…
From our untranslatable words
- Iktsuarpok — The restless anticipation that makes you keep stepping outside to see if someone is final…
- Meraki — Pouring your soul, love, and creativity into whatever you do — cooking, art, anything.
- Mångata — The shimmering, road-like reflection the moon casts across water.