Pour not water on a drowned mouse.
Meaning: Pointless effort wastes resources when the situation is already beyond remedy.
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 Wisdom
- A drunken night makes a cloudy morning. — Excess indulgence tonight guarantees regret and impaired judgment tomorrow.
- Dry bread at home is better than roast beef abroad. — Humble contentment in familiar surroundings surpasses luxury experienced in exile or disp…
- A dry cough is the trumpeter of death. — Persistent coughing, though seemingly minor, signals serious underlying illness requiring…
- A pennyworth of ease is worth a penny. — Small comforts earned through modest effort repay their cost in improved wellbeing and co…
- Live not to eat, but eat to live. — Prioritize survival and health through eating, rather than making food consumption your l…
- Eat a bit before you drink. — Consuming food before alcohol slows intoxication and prevents impaired judgment from clou…
From our tongue twisters
- גנן גידל דגן בגן, דגן גדול גדל בגן. (Ganan gidel dagan bagan, dagan gadol gadal bagan.) — A 'g / d / n' reshuffle — the same three consonants rearrange in every word.
- Barbara Ara bar Ara araba bara rabarbara. — An unbroken 'bar / ara / rab' roll built almost entirely from the same handful of syllabl…
- Ular melingkar-lingkar di atas pagar pak Umar. — A rolling 'l / r / ling' drill that loops like the snake it describes.