The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (116 page)
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revenge
DEAD men tell no tales
Cf.
1560
T. BECON
Works
II. 97 He that hath his body loden with meat and drinke is no more mete to prai vnto god then a dead man is to tel a tale.
1664
Andronicus Comnenius
I. iv.
'Twere best To knock 'um i' th' head … The dead can tell no tales.
1702
Inconstant
V. 76 Ay, ay,
Dead Men tell no Tales.
1850
Alton Locke
I. iv.
Where are the stories of those who have .. ended in desperation?.. Dead men tell no tales.
1979
Love & Land Beyond
viii.
Dead men told no tales, and the living were not always over-communicative.
1996
Washington Times
2 July A4
Dead men not only tell no tales, they don't dispute tales, either.
revenge
;
speech and silence
1560
T. BECON
Works
II. 97 He that hath his body loden with meat and drinke is no more mete to prai vnto god then a dead man is to tel a tale.
1664Andronicus Comnenius
I. iv.
'Twere best To knock 'um i' th' head … The dead can tell no tales.
1702
Inconstant
V. 76 Ay, ay,
Dead Men tell no Tales.
1850
Alton Locke
I. iv.
Where are the stories of those who have .. ended in desperation?.. Dead men tell no tales.
1979
Love & Land Beyond
viii.
Dead men told no tales, and the living were not always over-communicative.
1996
Washington Times
2 July A4
Dead men not only tell no tales, they don't dispute tales, either.
revenge;
speech and silence
Blessed are the DEAD that the rain rains on
A similar belief is
happy is the BRIDE that the sun shines on
.
1607
Puritan
I. i.
If, Blessed bee the coarse [corpse] the raine raynes vpon, he had it, powring downe.
1787
Provincial Glossary
(Superstitions) 61
It is .. esteemed a good sign if it rains whilst a corpse is burying: .. Happy is the corpse that the rain rains on.
1925
Great Gatsby
210
I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn't sent a message or a flower. Dimly I heard someone murmur, ‘Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on.’
blessings
;
death
happy is the BRIDE that the sun shines on
.
1607Puritan
I. i.
If, Blessed bee the coarse [corpse] the raine raynes vpon, he had it, powring downe.
1787
Provincial Glossary
(Superstitions) 61
It is .. esteemed a good sign if it rains whilst a corpse is burying: .. Happy is the corpse that the rain rains on.
1925
Great Gatsby
210
I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn't sent a message or a flower. Dimly I heard someone murmur, ‘Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on.’
blessings;
death
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