The Use of Proverbs with Examples

Proverbs are short, pithy sayings that often act as advice on various aspects of life and living. But do you know how to correctly use proverbs? Do you know how to correctly use proverbs in your own writing? A proverb is used to persuade, inform, or give advice or wisdom to an audience; therefore, it follows that to use proverbs successfully in your writing, you must persuade, inform, or provide wisdom to your audience.

What are proverbs?

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. In other words, it's a little saying about wisdom. Proverbs are more than just catchy phrases—they often relate to an everyday event, idea or feeling we all experience (or at least feel like we do). Here are some examples: Be as good as your word; A watched pot never boils; Last but not least; Let sleeping dogs lie; Look before you leap; Don't count your chickens before they hatch; Time heals all wounds.

Common types of proverbs

Although proverbs seem to apply to a huge variety of situations, in fact they can be categorized into three basic types: similes, metaphors and idioms. Here are some examples to help you tell them apart: Fat is like fire (simile), He moved as fast as lightning (metaphor) and A stitch in time saves nine (idiom). The above proverb-type sentences also help illustrate what sets proverbs apart from other sayings. They're often short, use simple language and don't contain explanations or definitions for words or phrases. They work better when left unsaid -- which is precisely why they've been handed down from generation to generation by parents, grandparents and teachers.

Analysis using a proverb

In speech and writing, it is common to use proverbs, which are short and pithy phrases. Often they are passed down from generation to generation, yet they still have meaning today. If a man can guide himself by his own rules, he will be a rule for many others. For example, If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

Some examples of proverb usage

As you sow, so shall you reap and Look before you leap. By better understanding how proverbs work and what they mean, you can use them to say a lot in a little. Let's start by looking at some common characteristics that many proverbs share. They are short (generally one line), universally true statements. Another quality is that a proverb makes an observation or points out a fact about human nature. The easiest way to get started writing your own is by adapting popular ones; when someone in conversation says something that sounds like a proverb, change it into an active statement and voila – you’ve got your first proverb.

It is well to remember that proverbs are generally old sayings, which men have found out by experience to be true, and therefore we ought not to think it strange if they sometimes answer purposes almost as good as a reason; because where is the old saying that ever came into a man’s head by chance? But ’tis no wonder if proverbs hit on many things truly; for in them lies a great deal of observation, and yet but few deductions.