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Authors: John Andrew Simpson,

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (238 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
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One GOOD turn deserves another
Cf. early 14th-cent. Fr.
lune bonté requiert lautre
, one good deed deserves another.
c
1400
in
Bulletin of John Rylands Library
(1930) XIV. 92
O [one] good turne asket another.
1620
Contemplations
V. XIV. 28
One good turne requires another … Justly should they haue been set at the vpper end of the table.
1638
Amyntas
V. vi.
One good turne deserves another.
1824
St. Ronan's Well
II. iv.
But one good turn deserves another—in that case, you must .. dine with me.
1929
True Heart
II. 151
You've given me the best laugh I've had for months, and one good turn deserves another.
1979
Wilt Alternative
xiv.
Noblesse oblige? You know, one good turn deserves another and whatnot.
reciprocity
GOOD wine needs no bush
A bunch of ivy was formerly the sign of a vintner's shop.
a
1430
Pilgrimage of Man
(EETS) I. 20415
And at tavernys (withoute wene [doubt]) Thys tooknys [signs] nor thys bowys grene .. The wyn they mende nat.
1545
tr.
Erasmus' Adages
(ed. 2) 42
V
Wyne that is saleable and good nedeth no bushe or garland of yuye [ivy] to be hanged before. The english prouerbe is thus Good wyne neadeth no signe.
1599
As You like It
(Epilogue) 3
If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue.
1711
Spectator
13 Nov.,
I was never better pleased than with a plain man's compliment, who upon his friend's telling him that he would like the
Spectator
much better if he understood the motto, replied, that good wine needs no bush.
1845
Handbook for Travellers in Spain
I. ix.
Good wine needs neither bush, herald, nor crier.
1983
Monday Theory
vi.
‘Doesn't advertise much, does she, Chief?’ said Reed. ‘Relies on the principle that good wine needs no bush, perhaps,’ replied Masters.
public relations
;
reputation
good
see also
as good be an ADDLED egg as an idle bird
;
ALL good things must come to an end
;
good AMERICANS when they die go to Paris
;
BAD money drives out good
;
the BEST is the enemy of the good
;
BETTER a good cow than a cow of a good kind
;
BRAG is a good dog, but Holdfast is better
;
it is good to make a BRIDGE of gold to a flying enemy
;
a CHANGE is as good as a rest
;
CONFESSION is good for the soul
;
why should the DEVIL have all the best tunes?
;
DILIGENCE is the mother of good luck
;
ENOUGH is as good as a feast
;
EVIL communications corrupt good manners
;
never do EVIL that good may come of it
;
FAR-FETCHED and dear-bought is good for ladies
;
FIRE is a good servant but a bad master
;
there are as good FISH in the sea as ever came out of it
;
HOPE is a good breakfast but a bad supper
;
it's an ILL wind that blows nobody any good
;
JACK is as good as his master
;
a LIAR ought to have a good memory
;
LISTENERS never hear any good of themselves
;
a MISS is as good as a mile
;
NO news is good news
;
a NOD'S as good as a wink to a blind horse
;
there is NOTHING so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse
;
see a PIN and pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck
;
any PUBLICITY is good publicity
;
the ROAD to hell is paved with good intentions
;
good SEED makes a good crop
;
if something SOUNDS too good to be true, it probably is
;
one STORY is good till another is told
;
you can have TOO much of a good thing
;
when the WIND is in the east, 'tis neither good for man nor beast
.
BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
13.01Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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