The cat is hungry when a crust contents her.
Meaning: Extreme hunger makes even the poorest sustenance—a mere crust—seem like a satisfying meal.
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
- The cat sees not the mouse ever. — A predator blinded by complacency allows its prey to escape unnoticed.
- When the cat winketh, little wots the mouse what the cat thinketh. — A predator's benign appearance masks hidden intentions; never trust surface calm from tho…
- Though the cat winks awhile, yet sure she is not blind. — Temporary inattention doesn't indicate genuine inability; the cat merely feigns sleep whi…
- Those are wise who learn caution from their own experience; but those are wiser who learn it from the experience of others. — Benefiting from others' mistakes costs less than accumulating your own painful lessons.
- There is nothing certain in this life but death and taxes! — Mortality and financial obligation are life's only inevitabilities, making all other plan…
- I'm too old a bird to be caught by chaff. — Experience teaches you to recognize deception disguised as something worthless or trivial.