Though the fox runs the chicken hath wings.
Meaning: Predator and prey possess different advantages; cunning alone cannot always overcome natural defenses.
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
- Such as the tree is, such is the fruit. — People's actions and character naturally reflect their inner nature and values.
- If you would enjoy the fruit, pluck not the flower. — Premature harvesting destroys potential; patience allows natural development to completio…
- Take away fuel, take away flame. — Eliminating the source of a problem stops the problem itself from spreading or persisting.
- Gems must not be valued by what they are set in. — True worth lies beyond external packaging; judge people and things by inherent quality, n…
- Gentility without ability is worse than plain beggary. — Social pretense without competence breeds contempt; honest poverty deserves more respect…
- Gentle strokes make the sweetest harmony. — Soft, patient efforts create more pleasing results than forceful or aggressive approaches…
From our tongue twisters
- O papa papava o papo do pipo; o pipo papava o papo do papa. — A perfectly palindromic 'p' construction that reverses meaning when you swap the nouns.
- На дворе трава, на траве дрова. (Na dvore trava, na trave drova.) — A short but nasty 'tr/dr' blend — the consonant clusters that trip up every learner of Ru…
- Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку. (Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku.) — A merciless 'sh/s/ss' collision — Sasha walking, sucking, and all those sibilants.