32 Abundance will make cotton pull a stone NIGERIA
33 A fruit-tree that grows on a dunghill is sure to flourish NEW ZEALAND
34 Cut your coat according to your cloth ENGLAND
56 DESTRUCTION
1 An ant may well destroy a whole dam CHINA
2 Small termites collapse the roof ETHIOPIA
3 To fill a ditch a mound must come down ARMENIA
4 A candle lights others and consumes itself ENGLAND
5 A fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef CHINA
6 Weeds never perish NETHERLANDS
7 Feigned laughter ruins the teeth INDIA
8 Those who hesitate are lost ENGLAND
9 Do not tear down the east wall to repair the west CHINA
10 You cannot damage a wrecked ship ITALY
11 One broken rail will wreck a train USA
12 Sharp acids corrode their own containers ALBANIA
57 FORCE
1 No matter how hard you throw a dead fish in the water, it still won’t swim REPUBLIC OF CONGO
2 A hungry louse bites hard USA
3 It’s not so bad to fall in the gutter, but it’s worse to lay there USA
4 It takes two blows to make a battle ENGLAND
5 There’s no crime in the blow that has not been struck IRELAND
6 The first blow does not hurt like the second ZANZIBAR
7 The peace-maker gets two-thirds of the blows MONTENEGRO
8 Those who bring good news knock hard ENGLAND
9 The bigger they come, the harder they fall USA
10 When two elephants struggle, it is the grass that suffers ZANZIBAR
11 Pull gently at a weak rope NETHERLANDS
12 If you have strings, pull them USA
58 PARENTS – CHILDREN
1 To understand your parents’ love, bear your own children CHINA
2 A crab does not beget a bird CÔTE D’IVOIRE
3 We are all Adam’s children ENGLAND
4 Proverbs are the children of experience ENGLAND
5 Who teaches me for a day is my father for a lifetime CHINA
6 Poets are fathers of lies LATIN
7 A boulder is the father of the rocks NIGERIA
8 Give your love to your wife and your secret to your mother IRELAND
9 The morning is the mother of trades and the evening the mother of thoughts ITALY
10 The bazaar knows neither father nor mother TURKEY
11 Those whose mother is naked are not likely to clothe their aunt SUDAN
12 A hundred aunts is not the same as one mother SIERRA LEONE
13 More than one mother can make tasty soup NIGERIA
14 If power can be bought, then sell your mother to get it; you can always buy her back later GHANA
15 Necessity is the mother of invention ENGLAND
16 If you laugh at your mother-in-law, you’ll get dirt in your eye KENYA
17 Parents who are afraid to put their foot down will have children who step on their toes CHINA
18 It takes a whole village to raise one child NIGERIA
19 It is not economical to go to bed early to save the candles if the result is twins CHINA
20 Admiration is the daughter of ignorance SPAIN
21 Truth is the daughter of time GERMANY
22 An heir also inherits quarrels NAMIBIA
23 It is easier to rule a nation than a son CHINA
24 A child is more than a chip ESTONIA
59 LOCATIONS
1 There’s a time and a place for everything ENGLAND
2 There’s more room outside than inside CANADA
3 It is hard to swim between two stretches of bad water NETHERLANDS
4 A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows the corners IRELAND
5 The best neighbors are vacant lots USA
6 A good driver turns in a small space FRANCE
7 Where the drum is burst is the place to mend it REPUBLIC OF CONGO
8 It is with its own face that the plate receives the soup NIGERIA
9 Between two points one cannot draw more than one straight line DENMARK
10 If you can’t drive your car, park it USA
11 Do not put each foot on a different boat CHINA
12 Precious ointments are put in small boxes FRANCE
13 All’s lost that’s put in a broken dish SCOTLAND
14 Lightning never strikes twice in the same place ENGLAND
15 The quiet duck puts his foot on the unobservant worm CHINA
16 Puttin’ feathers on a buzzard won’t make it no eagle USA
17 Many speak a word which if it were a florin they would put back in their purse GERMANY
18 It is easier to throw the load off the cart than to put it on CZECH REPUBLIC
19 Don’t put all your goods in your shop window USA
20 A gladiator only takes counsel in the arena LATIN
60 STANDING – SITTING – LYING
1 Standing on top of one mountain, the other mountain is higher CHINA
2 Someone who stands behind a wall can see nothing else JAPAN
3 A lie stands upon one leg, but truth upon two ENGLAND
4 It is easy to make pipes sitting amongst bulrushes CZECH REPUBLIC
5 When two ride on one horse one must sit behind ENGLAND
6 Who sits under a pear-tree will eat pears BULGARIA
7 ‘Virtue in the middle,’ said the devil as he sat between two lawyers NORWAY
8 Who sits on the floor, is not afraid of a fall CZECH REPUBLIC
9 Sparrows clean their beaks against the branch on which they sit ESTONIA
10 A bird with a beautiful plumage doesn’t sit in the corner CAMEROON
11 If you try to sit on two chairs, you’ll sit on the floor USA
12 Those who have free seats at a play hiss first CHINA
13 At a round table every seat is first GERMANY
14 Don’t be breaking your shin on a stool that’s not in your way IRELAND
15 Judge not the horse by his saddle CHINA
16 Flies never alight on boiling pots UKRAINE
17 If you would climb into the saddle don’t despise the stirrup GERMANY
18 Those who lie on the ground have no place from which to fall LATIN
19 When the bed is small lie in the centre SPAIN
20 People are not trodden on unless they lie down first GERMANY
61 FINDING
1 A