You cannot hide an eel in a sack.
Meaning: Obvious truths inevitably reveal themselves despite attempts at concealment, just as a living creature's movements betray what a container holds.
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
- Rub your sore eye with your elbow. — Attempting the impossible wastes effort; some problems lack practical solutions.
- Give it plenty of elbow grease. — Sustained physical effort and hard work can overcome obstacles that seem intractable or r…
- That's but an empty purse that's full of other men's money. — Borrowed wealth brings no security; true richness comes from what you genuinely own.
- England is the Paradise of women. — Women historically enjoyed greater legal protections, property rights, and social freedom…
- Enough and to spare is too much. — Abundance beyond necessity breeds excess and waste, inviting trouble rather than security.
- He that throws away his estate with his hands, goes afterwards to pick it upon his feet. — Careless squandering forces you into degrading labor to recover what you carelessly destr…