Soft words hurt not the mouth.
Meaning: Gentle speech costs nothing to speak and risks no harm through careless words.
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 Communication
- Wounds may heal, but not those made by ill words. — Physical injuries fade while harsh speech leaves permanent emotional scars impossible to…
- Say no ill of the year till it is passed. — Withhold judgment on circumstances until their full course concludes, as premature critic…
- Believe well and have well. — Right conduct and virtuous living naturally produce good outcomes and contentment in life.
- Drunken folk often speak truth. — Intoxication dissolves social filters, allowing suppressed honesty to surface uncensored.
- He lies like an epitaph. — Flattery inscribed on tombstones distorts truth, so excessive praise proves fundamentally…
- One ill word asketh another. — Harsh speech begets harsh response, creating cycles of escalating conflict rather than re…
From our untranslatable words
- Tampo — Pulling back your warmth and affection when you've been hurt — going quiet and distant, h…
- Shemomechama — Eating well past fullness simply because the food is too delicious to stop.
- Prozvonit — To call someone's phone and hang up after one ring, so they call you back and you save th…