86
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Is there an idiom that says not to change a perfectly good thing?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (informal)
If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it.
Edit: You could leave out "try to" (I've heard it both ways), but the point of the proverb is that if you ...
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55
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Accepted
Is there an idiom about how humanely killing something is better than letting it live in pain?
You can put the animal out of its misery. It means to euthanize.
I suppose you could say the same of a failing business enterprise, figuratively, and even of a dysfunctional relationship, when ...
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35
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What's the English saying for "That the ancestors are successful is inferior to that the descendants are successful"?
“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
I would say this quote gets across the same meaning. That is it is more important that successes be push ...
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33
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Is there an idiom that says not to change a perfectly good thing?
"Leave well enough alone."
Related, "Let sleeping dogs lie."
I've always heard user3169's answer as "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
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What's the English saying for "That the ancestors are successful is inferior to that the descendants are successful"?
The maxim reminds you that your future is your children …
There's the following expression:
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
According to Quote ...
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26
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Accepted
What does "football" mean in this sentence: "We are seeing more football here. We are seeing more clients."
She doesn't say 'football'. She says
we are seeing more footfall, we're seeing more clients
'Footfall' is a term used in retail and other customer-facing business contexts and means 'number of ...
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17
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A person lacking money who shows off a lot
I think the closest equivalent in English is the expression:
living beyond [their] means
as in
He should stop living beyond his means and start saving money.
However this is more a warning to ...
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15
votes
Accepted
A person lacking money who shows off a lot
Be aware that most people would be offended if you used any of these descriptions to them or about them. Non-native speakers are also advised to avoid the ones marked as vulgar unless you are ...
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15
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Is there an idiom that says not to change a perfectly good thing?
The expression "gilding the lily" means to add needless changes to something that's already of high value or near-perfect. So "don't gild the lily" would perhaps covey what you're ...
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13
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A person lacking money who shows off a lot
A common slang term in the US is to "front"
To be "fronting"
Urban slang. To put up a facade or make appearances, typically to impress or in some way deceive to maintain an image. From 'to front'.
...
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12
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Accepted
"Even vinegar, once you've gotten it for free, tastes sweet": Is there an English equivalent for this saying?
The closest I can think of is
a gift horse
which references the saying
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Though it is not a precise match.
A horse’s teeth are often a good indication of ...
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10
votes
Accepted
He that is silent, gathers stones
This proverb shares the same idea (but is put the other way around) with A barking dog never bites.
He that is silent gathers stones (I don't think a comma should be there) literally means "a person ...
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10
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Is there an idiom about how humanely killing something is better than letting it live in pain?
Put to sleep and put down are common euphemisms for euthanizing an animal - "put Fluffy to sleep", or "have Fluffy put to sleep", or "have Fluffy put down."
I've heard both used in other contexts ...
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10
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An idiom for “Until you punish the offender, they will not give up offenses”
spare the rod, spoil the child
Said to derive from the Book of Proverbs, here is the King James Version which was printed in 1611.
“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him ...
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9
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Is there an idiom that says not to change a perfectly good thing?
Here are two other proverbs that mean the same thing.
"Never change a running system"
"Don't change a winning team"
Also, the correct proverb is "If it ain't broke, don't ...
8
votes
Idiom for trying to avoid misfortune, but it happens anyway
I'm not sure if these phrases are exactly what you want, but these are what I can suggest:
backfire: (of a plan) to have the opposite result from the one you intended
You can't cheat fate.
If ...
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8
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Is there an idiom about how humanely killing something is better than letting it live in pain?
A coup de grâce is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal.(Wiki)
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"Even vinegar, once you've gotten it for free, tastes sweet": Is there an English equivalent for this saying?
There is a word used in English for (often cheap) giveaways: swag. It overlaps with Russian "khalyava" in meaning. Quoting from Wiktionary,
swag: (uncountable) Handouts, freebies, or giveaways, ...
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7
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Is there a proverb meaning that "one cannot give what one does not herself have"?
There is
You cannot get blood from a stone
although that's a little more about avoiding futile activity.
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7
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Is there an idiom about how humanely killing something is better than letting it live in pain?
I'd use take it behind the barn and shoot it for putting an early end to something instead of having it drag on.
A similar saying is take it out back.
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Is there an idiom about how humanely killing something is better than letting it live in pain?
Tᴚoɯɐuo gave the best answer for killing an animal mercifully.
In the case of a business or investment, while we might use that as a metaphor, some common phrases are cutting your losses and don't ...
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7
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What did Martin Luther King mean by "In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"?
Dr. King's most famous literary work is his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written while he was imprisoned after a protest in April 1963. In it, he criticizes fellow clergy who supported civil rights,...
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Need a proverb for a poor man who struggles for better life
While I find no proverb/idiom that exactly addresses your concern, what Khan made seems to be the closest in this context.
poverty follows the poor everywhere
So, to write your story again...
...
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5
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Need a proverb for a poor man who struggles for better life
Well, I don't know of a proverb that exactly fits your need, but there is a fairly well-known one which with some minor changes can meet your need, viz:
The grass is not always greener on the ...
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5
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What is an idiom used for when we say something unfortunate and it comes true?
One idea that comes to my mind is the verb jinx.
We often say that someone jinxes something when something bad happens after that person has made a related comment. For example, in this blog, a ...
J.R.♦
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proverb: A man's home is his castle
The scenario doesn't illustrate the proverb, as the castle referenced doesn't actually stand for any physical castle.
From dictionary.com, the definition is
People enjoy the position of rulers ...
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What's the English saying for "That the ancestors are successful is inferior to that the descendants are successful"?
Though not a proverb, there is a famous attributed to Abraham Lincoln which is along the same lines:
"I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be....
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Is there an idiom that says not to change a perfectly good thing?
If you want a lighthearted way to joke about someone trying to fix something that they should have left alone, there's
"If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is"
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In the land of milk and honey
The phrase "the land of milk and honey" traces back to the bible. In the Old Testament, God makes a promise to give some land to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15:18-21):
On that day ...
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