What every one asks, what every one gives, but what very few take--advice.
Meaning: Everyone seeks and gives advice, yet almost no one actually follows it.
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
- Two of a trade seldom agree. — Rivals in the same business rarely agree; competition breeds friction between them.
- Agues come on horseback, but go away on foot. — Sickness arrives suddenly but lingers, leaving far more slowly than it came.
- None knows the weight of another's burden. — No one can truly feel how heavy another person's troubles are.
- April and May are the keys of the year. — Spring's weather sets the course for the whole year's growth and harvest.
- Argus at home, but a mole abroad. — Sharp-eyed over one's own household, yet blind to everything beyond it.
- Ask but enough, and you may lower as you list. — Open by asking high, and you can always come down as you please.
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