Words are like weights, gravity gives them effect.
Meaning: Heavy words gain power through the seriousness of their context and the consequences they carry.
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 Communication
- A word is enough to the wise. — The wise person needs only minimal guidance to understand and act on good advice.
- Words spoken in an evening the wind carrieth away. — Careless evening talk dissolves into irrelevance like dispersed wind, so thoughtless word…
- Fair words will not keep a cat from starving. — Flattery and pleasant speech cannot substitute for concrete necessities like food and sur…
- Good words cool more than cold water. — Kind speech soothes anger and distress more effectively than external comfort ever could.
- Good words fill not a sack. — Eloquent speech alone cannot sustain you; you need material provisions and practical acti…
- Many words will not fill a bushel. — Excessive talk produces nothing tangible; abundance of speech cannot substitute for concr…
From our untranslatable words
- Kilig — The butterflies-and-shivers feeling of romantic excitement — the giddiness triggered by a…
- Yuánfèn — The invisible thread of fate that brings people together — the destined connection betwee…
- Chōu kōng — To steal a moment of escape from a hectic schedule — finding a sliver of free time and us…