Try your friend before you trust him.
Meaning: Test a person's character through small, low-stakes interactions before depending on them for important matters.
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 Perseverance
- If things were to be done twice, all would be wise. — Hindsight reveals mistakes, but life allows no rehearsals—act carefully the first time.
- Never carry two faces under one hat. — Duplicity and hypocrisy inevitably expose themselves; maintaining contradictory personas…
- When two Sundays come in one week--that is, never. — Impossible events cannot be awaited; stop postponing difficult tasks with false hope of p…
- He who stays in the valley will never get over the hill. — Comfort in familiar circumstances prevents growth and progress beyond current limitations.
- He is wise enough that can keep himself warm in winter. — Self-sufficiency and practical preparation matter more than theoretical knowledge or gran…
- He that goes far from home for a wife, either intends to cheat or will be cheated. — Marrying a stranger from distant lands invites deception, whether intentional fraud or na…
From our idioms
- pull the rug out from under someone — To abruptly ruin someone's plans or expectations.
- pull the wool over someone's eyes — To deceive or fool someone.
- pull up stakes — To collect one's household belongings and leave one's house or property; to move to anoth…