The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (251 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs

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One HAND for oneself and one for the ship

A nautical proverb, also used in variant forms in similar contexts: see the explanation in quot. 1902.

1799
Port Folio
(Philadelphia, 1812) VII. 130
Did I not tell you never to fill both hands at once. Always keep one hand for the owners, and one for yourself.
1822
Pilot
I. vii.
The maxim, which says, ‘one hand for the owner, and t'other for yourself,’.. has saved many a hearty fellow from a fall that would have balanced the purser's books.
1902
Round Horn
58
The old rule on a yard is, ‘one hand for yourself and one for the ship,’ which means, hold on with one hand and work with the other.
1945
Diary
7 Apr. in
Aircraft Carrier
(1954) 132
Hold tight and brace yourself when you're changing positions … One hand for the plane, and one for yourself.
1968
Long Wake
i.
I did not know then the old adage ‘one hand for oneself and one hand for the company.’

prudence
;
security

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The HAND that rocks the cradle rules the world

1865
in
Cyclopædia of Practical Quotations
(1896) 402
A mightier power and stronger Man from his throne has hurled, For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.
a
1916
‘’
Toys of Peace
(1919) 158
You can't prevent it; it's the nature of the sex. The hand that rocks the cradle rocks the world, in a volcanic sense.
1979
Guardian
12 June 9
The hand that rocks the cradle may rule the world but .. the hand itself is controlled by the state.
1996
Washington Times
10 May A2
The habits of the home in one generation become the morals of society in the next. As the old adage says: ‘The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world ..’

women

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One HAND washes the other

Cf. EPICHARMUS
Apophthegm
273 (Kaibel)