Language, like humanity is very contradictory.
While idioms and proverbs have their differences—mainly that proverbs convey a bit of common wisdom, whereas idioms do not have to have that component—both aim to make sense of the world in concise, easy-to-understand ways.
But both can completely fail at this since both tend to contradict themselves. For instance, there seems to be very differing schools of thought when it comes to hurrying versus being patient, as is indicated by these contrasting phrases:
The early bird gets the worm.
Haste makes waste.
All good things come to him who waits.
A stitch in time saves nine.
Look before you leap.
He who hesitates is lost.
Slow and steady wins the race, but time waits for no man.
Like…huh? Clearly the only idiom that’s actually true in this regard is hurry up and wait.
Confusion. media2.giphy.com
But there’s more where that came from! Here are some other proverbs, idioms, and clichés that mean the complete opposite.
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder / Out of sight, out of mind.
- Attack is the best form of defense / He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
- Clothes make the man / You cannot judge a book by its cover.
- Do it well or not at all / Done is better than perfect.
- Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth / Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
- Doubt is the beginning of wisdom / Faith will move mountains.
- Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise / Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.
- Faint heart never won a fair lady / The meek shall inherit the earth.
- Familiarity breeds contempt / Home is where the heart is.
- Great minds think alike / Fools seldom differ.
- Hold fast to the words of your ancestors / Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat them.
- If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again / Don’t beat your head against a wall.
- It’s better to be safe than sorry / Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
- Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone / Misery loves company.
- Love makes the world go around / When poverty comes in the door, love flies out the window.
- Many hands make light work / Too make cooks spoil the broth.
- Money is the root of all evil / Money makes the world go around.
- Opposites attract / Birds of a feather flock together.
- Save for a rainy day / Tomorrow will take care of itself.
- The best things in life are free / There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
- The pen is mightier than the sword / Actions speak louder than words.
- The squeaky wheel gets the grease / Silence is golden.
- Two’s company, three’s a crowd / The more the merrier.
- With age comes wisdom / Out of the mouths of babes, come all wise sayings.
- You’re never too old to learn / You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Just goes to show that no matter which direction you decide to go in life, there’s likely a saying to back up your reasoning. Because life isn’t, as they say, one size fits all.