The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (511 page)
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As you SOW, so you reap
With allusion to
GALATIANS
vi. 7 (AV) Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
a
900
Christ in Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records
(1936) III. 5
Swa eal manna bearn sorgum sawath, swa eft ripath [just as each son of man sows in grief, so he also reaps].
c
1470
Mankind in Macro Plays
(1962) l. 180
Such as thei haue sowyn, such xall thei repe.
1664
Hudibras
II
. ii.
And look before you ere you leap; For as you sow, you are like to reap.
1871
Short Studies
2nd Ser. 10
As men have sown they must still reap. The profligate .. may recover .. peace of mind .. but no miracle takes away his paralysis.
1978
Praxis
xxiv.
‘You should never have left them,’ said Irma. ‘As you sow, Praxis, so you reap.’
1997
Washington Times
9 Mar. B10
Yet in the end, as a man soweth, so shall he reap.
GALATIANS
vi. 7 (AV) Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
a900
Christ in Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records
(1936) III. 5
Swa eal manna bearn sorgum sawath, swa eft ripath [just as each son of man sows in grief, so he also reaps].
c
1470
Mankind in Macro Plays
(1962) l. 180
Such as thei haue sowyn, such xall thei repe.
1664
Hudibras
II
. ii.
And look before you ere you leap; For as you sow, you are like to reap.
1871
Short Studies
2nd Ser. 10
As men have sown they must still reap. The profligate .. may recover .. peace of mind .. but no miracle takes away his paralysis.
1978
Praxis
xxiv.
‘You should never have left them,’ said Irma. ‘As you sow, Praxis, so you reap.’
1997
Washington Times
9 Mar. B10
Yet in the end, as a man soweth, so shall he reap.
They that SOW the wind shall reap the whirlwind
The proverb is also used as a metaphorical phrase
to sow the wind (and reap the whirlwind)
. With allusion to
HOSEA
viii. 7 (AV) They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
1583
Fruitful & Brief Discourse
II
. 203
They who sowed a winde, shall reap a whirlewind, but they that sowed in iustice shall reape mercie.
1853
in
Putnam's Magazine
Apr. 386
Ask the Rev. Cream Cheese to .. preach from this text: ‘They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.’
1923
Icebound
III. 98
Well—what's passed is passed. Folks that plant the wind reap the whirlwind!
1981
Ironmaster
xvii.
I know that he who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind. I dislodge a clod of earth, and start a landslide.
action and consequence
to sow the wind (and reap the whirlwind)
. With allusion to
HOSEA
viii. 7 (AV) They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
1583Fruitful & Brief Discourse
II
. 203
They who sowed a winde, shall reap a whirlewind, but they that sowed in iustice shall reape mercie.
1853
in
Putnam's Magazine
Apr. 386
Ask the Rev. Cream Cheese to .. preach from this text: ‘They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.’
1923
Icebound
III. 98
Well—what's passed is passed. Folks that plant the wind reap the whirlwind!
1981
Ironmaster
xvii.
I know that he who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind. I dislodge a clod of earth, and start a landslide.
action and consequenceSPARE at the spigot, and let out at the bunghole
The meaning is explained in quot. 1721. The
spigot
is the peg or pin used to regulate the flow of liquid through the tap on a cask, while the
bung-hole
is the (much larger) opening through which a cask is filled or emptied and which is closed by a plug (the bung).
1642
Select Italian Proverbs
50
He holdeth in at the spicket, but letteth out at the bung-hole.
1670
English Proverbs
193
Spare at the spigget, and let it out at the bung-hole.
1721
Scottish Proverbs
299
Spare at the Spiggot, and let out at the Bung Hole. Spoken to them who are careful and penurious in some trifling Things, but neglective in the main Chance.
1885
How to be Happy though Married
xiii.
People are often saving at the wrong place … They spare at the spigot, and let all run away at the bunghole.
1935
Rats, Lice & History
xvi.
It is all a part of the strange contradictions between idealism and savagery that characterize the most curious of all mammals. It leads to the extraordinary practice of what is spoken of as ‘saving at the spigot and wasting at the bung.’
1966
Wild Apples & North Wind
xxvii.
That might fix it now, but next summer you'd be in as bad a squeeze … If you save at the spigot you lose at the bung.
getting and spending
;
waste
spigot
is the peg or pin used to regulate the flow of liquid through the tap on a cask, while the
bung-hole
is the (much larger) opening through which a cask is filled or emptied and which is closed by a plug (the bung).
1642Select Italian Proverbs
50
He holdeth in at the spicket, but letteth out at the bung-hole.
1670
English Proverbs
193
Spare at the spigget, and let it out at the bung-hole.
1721
Scottish Proverbs
299
Spare at the Spiggot, and let out at the Bung Hole. Spoken to them who are careful and penurious in some trifling Things, but neglective in the main Chance.
1885
How to be Happy though Married
xiii.
People are often saving at the wrong place … They spare at the spigot, and let all run away at the bunghole.
1935
Rats, Lice & History
xvi.
It is all a part of the strange contradictions between idealism and savagery that characterize the most curious of all mammals. It leads to the extraordinary practice of what is spoken of as ‘saving at the spigot and wasting at the bung.’
1966
Wild Apples & North Wind
xxvii.
That might fix it now, but next summer you'd be in as bad a squeeze … If you save at the spigot you lose at the bung.
getting and spending;
waste
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