The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (154 page)
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eleven
Every ELM has its man
Cf.
1906
R. KIPLING
Puck of Pook's Hill
32 Ellum she hateth mankind, and waiteth Till every gust be laid To drop a limb on the head of him That any way trusts her shade.
1928
Times
29 Nov. 10
Owing to the frequency with which this tree sheds its branches, or is uprooted in a storm, it has earned for itself a sinister reputation. ‘Every elm has its man’ is an old country saying.
death
;
fate and fatalism
1906
R. KIPLING
Puck of Pook's Hill
32 Ellum she hateth mankind, and waiteth Till every gust be laid To drop a limb on the head of him That any way trusts her shade.
1928Times
29 Nov. 10
Owing to the frequency with which this tree sheds its branches, or is uprooted in a storm, it has earned for itself a sinister reputation. ‘Every elm has its man’ is an old country saying.
death;
fate and fatalism
EMPTY sacks will never stand upright
Extreme need makes survival impossible. Also used as an argument for taking food or drink (see quot. 1978)
1642
Select Italian Proverbs
90
Sacco vuoto non può star in piedi
. An emptie sack cannot stand upright: nota, Applied to such as either pinch themselves, or are pincht by hard fortune.
1758
Poor Richard's Almanack
(Introduction)
Poverty often deprives a Man of all Spirit and Virtue; 'Tis hard for an empty Bag to stand up-right.
1860
Mill on Floss
I. I. viii.
There's folks as things 'ull allays go awk'ard with: empty sacks 'ull never stand upright.
a
1895
My Confidences
(1896) 395
Gibbs .. by this artifice .. made a hundred per cent … Gibbs was a needy man, and .. would often say, ‘It's hard for an empty sack to stand upright.’
1958
Borstal Boy
III. 310
We've a long night before us and an empty sack won't stand.
1978
Getting Through
99
‘Give this man something.’.. ‘A cup of tea will do fine,’ he had protested … ‘Nonsense … Empty bags can't stand.’
hunger
;
poverty
1642Select Italian Proverbs
90
Sacco vuoto non può star in piedi
. An emptie sack cannot stand upright: nota, Applied to such as either pinch themselves, or are pincht by hard fortune.
1758
Poor Richard's Almanack
(Introduction)
Poverty often deprives a Man of all Spirit and Virtue; 'Tis hard for an empty Bag to stand up-right.
1860
Mill on Floss
I. I. viii.
There's folks as things 'ull allays go awk'ard with: empty sacks 'ull never stand upright.
a
1895
My Confidences
(1896) 395
Gibbs .. by this artifice .. made a hundred per cent … Gibbs was a needy man, and .. would often say, ‘It's hard for an empty sack to stand upright.’
1958
Borstal Boy
III. 310
We've a long night before us and an empty sack won't stand.
1978
Getting Through
99
‘Give this man something.’.. ‘A cup of tea will do fine,’ he had protested … ‘Nonsense … Empty bags can't stand.’
hunger;
poverty
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