Soft words butter no parsnips.

Meaning: Gentle flattery alone cannot feed you; action and effort produce real, tangible results.

Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.

More proverbs about Communication

• Speak well of the dead. — Honoring those who've passed prevents spreading harm they can no longer defend themselves…
• Truth lies in a well. — Deep truths require effort and patience to excavate from obscurity, not quick surface obs…
• When wine sinks, words swim. — Alcohol loosens the tongue, making people speak freely or carelessly without their usual…
• Few words are best. — Silence demonstrates wisdom; excessive talk reveals ignorance and wastes others' time.
• Wranglers never want words. — Quarrelsome people exhaust themselves through constant conflict rather than resolving dis…
• The pen is mightier than the sword — Writing and ideas have more influence than violence.

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