There would be no great ones if there were no little.
Meaning: Greatness requires a foundation of ordinary people and humble tasks to build upon and elevate from.
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 great ship needs deep waters. — Significant ambitions require sufficient resources and circumstances to achieve their ful…
- A green wound is soon healed. — Fresh injuries recover quickly; delay in treatment makes wounds harder to mend.
- A green winter makes a fat churchyard. — Mild winters allow diseases to flourish unchecked, increasing mortality through the follo…
- An unbidden guest must bring his own stool with him. — Uninvited visitors cannot expect hospitality and must accommodate themselves without burd…
- A guilty conscience needs no accuser. — Wrongdoing torments the mind so intensely that external judgment becomes unnecessary for…
- Hail brings frost in the tail. — Severe weather's worst effects linger after the initial storm passes, demanding continued…
From our tongue twisters
- 赤パジャマ黄パジャマ茶パジャマ (Aka pajama, ki pajama, cha pajama) — A rapid-fire drill on colour words; the syllable shift from aka/ki/cha trips the tongue b…
- 坊主が屏風に上手に坊主の絵を描いた (Bōzu ga byōbu ni jōzu ni bōzu no e o kaita) — A sustained 'b' and long-vowel drill — bōzu/byōbu/jōzu demand precise mouth control.
- 隣の客はよく柿食う客だ (Tonari no kyaku wa yoku kaki kuu kyaku da) — A tricky spiral on ka/ki/ku that accelerates as you try to keep the syllables distinct.