The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (553 page)
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THREE may keep a secret, if two of them are dead
1546Dialogue of Proverbs
II
. v. G4
V
We twayne are one to many (quoth I) for men saie, Three maie keepe a counsell, if two be awaie.
c
1595
Romeo & Juliet
II
. iv. 190
Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say Two may keep counsel, putting one away?
1735
Poor Richard's Almanack
(July)
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
1979
Heberden's Seat
ii.
Two of everything .. two bodies, two causes of death … What was it? ‘Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’
concealment;
discretion
THREE removals are as bad as a fire
1758Poor Richard's Almanack
(Preface)
I never saw an oft removed Tree, Nor yet an oft removed Family, That throve so well, as those that settled be. And again, Three Removes are as bad as a Fire.
1839
Letter
14 Nov. (1965) I. 602
Did you ever ‘move’? .. There is an old proverb that three removes are as bad as a fire.
1931
in
Liberty
5 Sept. 28
Mr. Small's historians have traced at least six removals from place to place after he left his native Portland, and by reckoning ‘three moves as bad as a fire.’.. you may estimate the extent of his misfortune.
changeTHREE things are not to be trusted: a cow's horn, a dog's tooth, and a horse's hoof
Cf. 13th-cent. Fr.
dent de chael
,
pé de cheval
,
cul d'enfant ne sunt pas a crere
, a dog's tooth, a horse's hoof, and a baby's bottom are not to be trusted.
c
1383
Scotichronicon
(1759) II. XIV. xxxii.
Till horsis fote thou never traist, Till hondis tooth, no womans faith.
1585
Choice of Change
K2
Trust not 3 things. Dogs teeth. Horses feete. Womens Protestations.
1910
English as We speak it in Ireland
110
Three things are not to be trusted—a cow's horn, a dog's tooth and a horse's hoof.
1948
Elephant & Kangaroo
xiii.
He was .. beginning to worry about being employed by a venomous Englishman. ‘Four things not to trust,’ said the Cashelmor proverb: ‘a dog's tooth, a horse's hoof, a cow's horn, and an Englishman's laugh.’
caution
;
trust and scepticism
dent de chael
,
pé de cheval
,
cul d'enfant ne sunt pas a crere
, a dog's tooth, a horse's hoof, and a baby's bottom are not to be trusted.
c1383
Scotichronicon
(1759) II. XIV. xxxii.
Till horsis fote thou never traist, Till hondis tooth, no womans faith.
1585
Choice of Change
K2
Trust not 3 things. Dogs teeth. Horses feete. Womens Protestations.
1910
English as We speak it in Ireland
110
Three things are not to be trusted—a cow's horn, a dog's tooth and a horse's hoof.
1948
Elephant & Kangaroo
xiii.
He was .. beginning to worry about being employed by a venomous Englishman. ‘Four things not to trust,’ said the Cashelmor proverb: ‘a dog's tooth, a horse's hoof, a cow's horn, and an Englishman's laugh.’
caution;
trust and scepticism
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