美国人常挂在嘴边的200句

　　126-----Blood is thicker than water

　　Blood relationship is stronger than voluntarily chosen friendship. Brothers will stick up for each other against their own friends if they have to. This proverb is not quoted much anymore because kinship is not as highly valued as it used to be.

　　127-----You can't teach an old dog new tricks

　　Once habits are learned, it is very hard to change them.

　　128-----To err is human

　　It is normal for humans to make mistakes and it is godly (or God-like) to forgive them.

　　129-----Haste makes waste

　　Through acting quickly is generally a good thing, acting too quickly may cause troulbe. This proverb is used when someone has done a job carelessly and wrongly. For example, a carpenter in a hurry may cut a board too short and have to throw it away.

　　130-----Make hay while the sun shines

　　If you do not seize the opportunity, rain may come and spoil the hay before you get into the barn.

　　131-----If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

　　Withdraw from an activity if you don't like the conflict and criticism it brings. Let other people do it without you.

　　132-----Everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time

　　This is to tell us that we are all equal.

　　133-----Life is a pie

　　It's dished out in large and small pieces and when's gone, it's gone. If we ask for more than our share, we're just begging to be disappointed.

　　134-----Making every minute count

　　Doing something productive all the time, not letting any time "slip away."

　　135-----A pen is mightier than the sword

　　A conflict maybe resolved more deeply and effectively by writing the truth than by resorting to violence.

　　136-----A new broom sweeps clean

　　A new person in power will change many things and improve the situation. change is better than leaving things as they are.

　　137-----Tomorrow is another day (or, Tomorrow is a new day.)

　　No matter how bad things are right now, a person may hope for better prospects in the morning. New opportunities will come.

　　138-----Opportunity only knocks once

　　Opportunity is like an unexpected stranger passing by. It knocks on someone's door. If the person fails to answer the door, opportunity goes away and knocks on someone else's door. It does not return to the same person.

　　139-----Business is business

　　Do business with strangers as if they were brothers and with brothers as if they were strangers.

　　140-----History repeats itself

　　There are patterns in history. Nations rise and fall for similar reasons. Nations do not change their ways or learn from the mistakes of others. They repeat them.

　　141-----People are people

　　Their human nature is predictable. They respond to stimulus and incentives.

　　142-----Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer

　　A man without enemy is a man without quality. Think not? Even Jesus Christ had many, many enemies.

　　143-----Better late than never

　　Though being on time is better than being late, doing something late is better than giving up or doing nothing.

　　144-----Punish one, teach a hundred

　　People problems sometimes must be dealt with harshly. When you make an example of someone, make sure that everyone knows what the lesson is.

　　145-----Attitude is everything

　　A pessimist sees a glass half-empty, An optimist sees it half-full.

　　146-----Like father, like son

　　A son will be like his father. This may be quoted whenever the son has done something that reminds people of the father. Whether it is good or bad.

　　147-----When the cat's away the mice will play

　　People will take advantage of a situation if they can. Employees will get lazy if the supervisor is not keeping an eye on them. A teenage son or daughter might hold a wild party at home during a weekend when the parents have gone out of town.

　　148-----Praise when praise is due (sometimes even when it isn't)

　　Do not criticise beyond necessity and seldom in public. And always precede criticism with a few words of praise.

　　149-----Turnabout is fair play

　　If a person is taking advantage of someone else, the situation may change. The one on top may end up on the bottom. Then the one who has turned the tables will say, "I am only doing to you what you did to me.

　　150-----Here today, gone tomorrow

　　Things may change quickly. This is said as a criticism of a person who changes quickly for no good reason. It may also be said of a thing or situation which does not last. Change is not good when it indicates unreliability.