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804 entries for
proverbs
Relevance
Adler order
Longest first
η
689
Ἢ χρὴ τραγῳδεῖν ἢ μελαγχολᾶν
one must either make tragedy or be melancholic
[sc. A
proverbial
saying] in reference to neither grieving nor (?)letting go.
Matched in translation
high
short
ι
623
Ἴσαι ψῆφοι
equal votes
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those who are narrowly convicted in the jurycourts [sc. of classical Athens]. For if the votes are equal, defendants are relieved from trials in which the man …
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
8
Κάβος
kabos, cabus
A kind of measure. And [there is] a
proverb:
'a kabos of kabos'.
Matched in translation
high
short
meter and music
68
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68
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68
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68
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1
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1
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1
Tony Natoli
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1
Yukai Li
1
κ
388
Καρικῇ Μούσῃ
with a Carian muse
… speak a barbarian [i.e. non-Greek] language. And [there is] a
proverb:
'a Carian story'. [It is said] that a fisherman having seen an octopus during winter, said, "if I do not dive, I shall …
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
888
Κατ' αἶγας ἀγρίας
towards wild goats
A
proverb
uttered in reference to a curse. "To turn the evils towards wild goats."
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
1407
Κερκωπίζειν
to play the ape
The
proverbial
saying is a metaphor from animals that wag their tail [kerkos] towards one. But [it would be] more sound to derive it from the Kerkopes, which the story goes are very deceitful …
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
1439
Κευθωνύμου κλέος ἢ αἶσχος
Keuthonymos' fame -- or shame
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those who have a shameful fame; or if someone were to conceal his name; or [the name of someone] ill-named.
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
1537
Κηροῦ εὐπλαστότερος
more malleable than wax
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those who do something easily. "Asclepiodotus had an enthusiasm for the chromatic and diatonic kind of music: so he made his voice and the related organs of …
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
1580
Κίγκαλος
dabchick
A kind of light, lean bird. And [there is] a
proverb:
"poorer than a leberis and a dabchick".
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
1606
Κιλίκιος ὄλεθρος
Cilician ruin
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase coined] because the Cilicians, in their practise of raiding, had been criticized for cruelty.
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
1968
Κολοιὸς ποτὶ κολοιὸν ἱζάνει
jackdaw settles to jackdaw
… creature likes its own kind and flocks together. [sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those who mix with those who are similar.
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
2027
Κοννᾶς
Konnas, Connas
A drunken aulos-player [of that name]. And [there is] a
proverb:
"Konnas wearing a crown but dying of thirst." [It was he] who always came to drinking-parties wearing a wreath. Or because, although he …
Matched in translation
high
medium
κ
2052
Κόντῳ πλεῖν
to sail with a punting-pole
A
proverb;
i.e. to live appropriately.
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
2073
Κορδύλη
club, swelling, head-wrap
… Also the binding around the shoulder. And [there is] a
proverb:
"[sc. someone] not worthy of a kordyle."
Matched in translation
high
short
κ
2134
Κόσσας
Kossas, Cossas
[sc. He was] a just man. And [there is] a
proverb:
"the words of Kossas". For Kossas was a just man, a native of Pellene. These Pelleneans were at war with the Salaminians and …
Matched in translation
high
medium
κ
2183
Κουρήτων στόμα
Kouretes' mouth
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase used] because people thought they were seers. But others [sc. say it means] a mouth singing oracles.
Matched in translation
high
short
λ
29
Λαγὼς καθεύδων
a sleeping hare
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those pretending to sleep. The form lagwo/s, lagwou= is also used. And in the Epigrams: "while I was still a swift-footed child, torn straight from the breast …
Matched in translation
high
short
λ
128
Λάρος ἐν ἕλεσι
a gull in the marshes
A
proverb
in reference to those quick to pay back [sc. what they owe].
Matched in translation
high
short
λ
178
Λαίθαργος
secretly-biting
… tail while biting, and you are a secretly-biting bitch." A
proverb
applying to people who, to be sure, pretend to be well disposed but are plotting in secret.
Matched in translation
high
short
λ
521
Λίθον ἕψεις
you are boiling a stone
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those attempting to achieve something impossible; as if [to say] you are trying impossible things.
Matched in translation
high
short
λ
817
Λύκος περὶ φρέαρ χορεύει
a wolf is dancing round a well
[sc. A
proverbial
phrase] in reference to those toiling about something in vain. And because it circles ineffectually, whenever it is thirsty, not being able to drink -- since as it pursues something the …
Matched in translation
high
short
χ
64
Χαμαί
on the ground
[Meaning] on the earth. And [there is] a
proverb:
'to draw water on the ground', the equivalent of achieving nothing. Another instance is 'to wash a brick'. Used in reference to things that are …
Matched in translation
high
short
χ
171
Χαιριδεῖς
Chairideis
… come, to play the pipes uninvited". And [there is] a
proverb:
'Chairis singing in a steep-pitched style'. The steep-pitched [is] a style [no/mos] for playing the pipe, so called because it was rising and …
Matched in translation
high
medium
χ
601
Χοῖρος
pig, piglet, piggie
… [the word means] the female genitalia. From which [comes] a
proverb:
'you seem about to sell 'piggie' in Acrocorinth.' Meaning you seem to be about to earn a wage in Corinth. For [there are] …
Matched in translation
high
short
α
518
Ἄδων τὴν σπιθαμὴν τοῦ βίου πρὸς ἄνηθον
singing of the span of life to a dill-plant
The phrase 'span of life' appears as, seemingly,
proverbial
in its own right in some of the paroemiographers (with a gloss like the one at sigma 942), but as a whole this
proverb-like
headword …
Matched in notes
high
short
αι
165
Αἴ κε πάθοι τά κ' ἔρεξε δίκη δ' ἰθεῖα γένοιτο
if he should endure the sufferings which he has inflicted, the punishment would be just
… di/kh k'), and attributed to Rhadamanthys (rho 12, rho 13);
proverbial
in Appendix
Proverbiorum
2.12. An anonymous commentator on the Ethics quotes this as two verses -- the first one is ei) kaka/ tis …
Matched in notes
high
short
γ
42
Γάλλους
Galli
… not before revealing that it had continued by explaining the
proverb's
application. Some of the paroemiographers have it in full ("in reference to those wishing to make an end of things thoughtlessly": so e.g. …
Matched in notes
high
short
δ
273
Δεσμοὶ Τυρρηνοί
Etruscan chains, Etruscan fetters
… Hesychius, whose (mysterious) gloss is 'the ones [the] Athenians used'.
Proverbial
in Apostolius 5.97, with the same glossing as here. In Appendix
Proverbiorum
1.96 a second sentence of explanation is added: 'applied to those …
Matched in notes
high
short
δ
1029
Διθυραμβοδιδάσκαλοι
dithyramb-directors
… gay man (lambda 264, lambda 278, pi 3225, cf. the
proverb
for homosexual acts, ta\ *kinhsi/ou dra=| 'he does the acts of Cinesias': Michael Apostolius,
Proverbs
15.89) and lampooned for his gruesome appearance, covered …
Matched in notes
high
medium
δ
1168
Διονύσια
Dionysia
… Many quotations of Aristophanes in the Suda are introduced as
'proverbs'
(paroimiai), even if they would be better described as “pithy sayings”: cf. e.g. delta 1282, epsilon 3234, nu 597. It is possible that …
Matched in notes
high
medium
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