There's a medium between painting the face and not washing it.
Meaning: Moderation in self-presentation avoids both vanity's excess and neglect's impropriety.
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 Challenge
- Cry you mercy, who killed my cat? — Blaming someone for a minor loss while ignoring your own serious wrongs reveals misplaced…
- Mettle is dangerous in a blind horse. — A horse without sight cannot safely channel its spirited strength, making boldness reckle…
- Milk which will not be made into butter must be made into cheese. — When one path to profit closes, resourcefulness demands you pursue an alternative use for…
- I can see as far into a millstone as the picker. — A millstone's opaque interior conceals truth equally from all observers, regardless of th…
- The lower millstone grinds as well as the upper. — Humble, ordinary work produces results as valuable as prestigious labor.
- If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, let Mahomet go to the mountain. — When obstacles won't move, adapt your approach rather than exhaust yourself demanding cha…
From our compliments & insults
- Você é um amor — You're a sweetheart — warm, caring, and impossible not to like.
- Você tem muita garra — You have fierce, relentless determination — you claw your way through any obstacle.
- Ты умница (ty umnitsa) — You're bright, clever, and admirable — said warmly of someone who handles things well.