ProverbWisdomEnglish origin

What soberness conceals, drunkenness reveals.

Meaning: Alcohol dissolves social filters, exposing true thoughts and feelings people consciously suppress when sober.

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

Explore another collection: False Friends

Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.

  • Sky Actually means 'cloud'. The sky overhead is himmelen.
  • Grine Actually means 'to cry' or to pull a sour face. In Danish, grine means 'to laugh' — the e…
  • Frokost Actually means 'breakfast'. In Danish the same word means 'lunch' — so a cross-border inv…

Browse all false friends →

Keep exploring

Explore all proverbs →