6 Common English Proverbs – What do they mean?

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I'm Rebecca from engVid.

In this lesson, I'll teach you six proverbs that are very commonly heard in English-speaking

Now, what's a proverb?

A proverb is a kind of a wise saying or wise advice that's passed on from one person to

another or one generation to another, and so you might hear these proverbs in English,

and of course, in all languages, there are proverbs.

You have them in your own language, maybe you even have some of these.

We'll find out, okay?

And it's nice to know proverbs because it's a little more educated and cultured when you

can understand them, and of course, if you're writing, you can include them if you're writing

an essay for the IELTS or the TOEFL exam, and in general, when you're speaking to people,

we use these proverbs in various ways, okay?

So, let's look at what they are, and all of them happen to start with the word "don't".

That's the full proverb, but sometimes we use part of the proverbs also, okay?

So, I'll explain that as we go along.

Let's get started.

The first one, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Don't bite the hand that feeds you, okay?

So, what do you think that means?

Do you have something like that in your own language?

Don't bite the hand that feeds you means don't criticize or behave badly towards the person

or people or organization that's helping you, that's supporting you, that's taking care

of you, that cares about you.

For example, if you work somewhere and you're always, always complaining about the manager,

the boss, this, that, various things, and you're being really harsh about it, but at

the same time, you're working there, you're getting paid, so then sometimes in that context,

we might say, you know, "Hey, you know, take it easy, don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Or, a teenager who doesn't appreciate what his or her parents are doing for him, okay?

Then that - complaining a lot and really not behaving well, so you might say, "Hey, don't

bite the hand that feeds you", you know?

Behave well towards the people who are supporting you and taking care of you.

The next one, don't burn the candle at both ends.

You can say these after me because that way you'll start to feel more comfortable also.

Don't burn the candle at both ends.

So, what does that mean?

So, what it means is basically don't work so hard.

He's working very hard, he's working morning and night, getting up early, sleeping late,

and then we could say, "He's burning the candle at both ends" or "She's burning the candle

at both ends", right?

So, what does that mean?

That person is working too hard, really very hard, day and night, okay?

So, that's what that one means.

It has nothing to do with candles as such, okay?

It has to do with how much somebody is working.

The next one, don't judge a book by its cover, okay?

Say it after me.

Don't judge a book by its cover, okay?

So, you have a book and you have a cover, what do you think this proverb is trying to

It's trying to say don't decide if something or someone is good or bad based on how they

look or by the external appearance, okay?

So, for example, you meet someone and you might immediately feel, oh, they're - I don't

trust them or I don't like them, but it's not always a good thing to do that.

You have to get to know somebody, right?

So, don't judge a book by its cover.

And it could also apply to all kinds of things, okay?

It could apply to people, places, things, anything, okay?

Alright, let's continue the next one.

Don't cross that bridge till you come to it.

Say it after me.

Don't cross that bridge till you come to it, okay?

So, what that means is don't worry about something before it actually is necessary to think about

So, usually, we'll say this to somebody who's really - they're at this point in their life,

but they're worrying about that point, and that point, and that point, okay?

What if that happens?

What if that happens?

What if I fail my exam?

What if I lose my job?

And they're kind of living in a future that might never happen.

And so, you tell them, don't worry about it, okay?

Right now, you're here, right now, everything's okay, and if something happens, we'll cross

that bridge when we come to it.

So, you see, sometimes this - these proverbs might be used in slightly different ways,

Don't cross that bridge when we come to it, or we'll cross that bridge if we come to it,

or in general, don't cross that bridge till you come to it, okay?

So, you got that one?

Don't worry about something too much in advance, something that's in the future and may happen

or may never happen.

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

Now, when a chicken hatches, it means it is born, okay?

It breaks out of its egg.

So, don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

I'm told exists - exists, this proverb exists in various languages, okay?

Maybe in yours, let me know in the comments, alright?

So, this means what?

Don't talk about something too much before it's actually happened, and don't believe

that it's going to happen until it's actually happened.

So, for example, let's say someone goes for a job interview and it goes really, really

well, and he goes around telling everybody, "I've got the job, I've got the job, I know

it went really well, they like me very much, and I'm sure I'm going to get it, and yeah,

and after I get it, I'm going to do this and that", but it hasn't actually happened yet.

So, it's probably best not to say anything until you actually hear from the company,

In that situation, you might say to that person, okay, hope everything works out, take it easy,

don't count your chickens before they're hatched, but usually you might not say it, but this

is a kind of wisdom that people pass on to others that you're - that are - that's supposed

to influence your thinking and your behavior, okay?

In life and in different situations, alright?

And the last one, don't bite off more than you can chew, okay?

When you eat something, okay, you eat something and then you chew, okay?

So, don't bite off more than you can chew has nothing to do with eating, it has to do

usually with work, with responsibility, and often this is used in a professional context,

in a work context, it could be also an academic context.

So, it's basically saying, don't take on more than you can handle.

Don't take on more work, more responsibility than you can actually handle or than you can

So, let's say there's someone who's at work, he's young, and he's very eager to get ahead,

and so he tells the boss, yes, I can do that, I can do that, I can work on that project,

I can do that, but maybe his boss says, okay, that's great, you know?

Why don't you just work on the two projects right now?

I don't want you to have to, you know, bite off more than you can chew, let's take it

So, that's what it is, okay?

And also, if someone, for example, a young person, is enrolling in lots of classes and

in university, but you also know that there's a lot of work involved in each of those classes,

so you might advise them, hey, maybe it's better to just take a few classes and do really

well and focus on them.

So, don't bite off more than you can chew.

Don't take on more responsibility than you can handle, alright?

So, that's what they are.

Now, in order to practice and see whether you can remember some of the words that are

in these, let's do one more little quiz, okay?

So, as you can see, I've erased some of the words on the board, and you can help me fill

them back in, alright?

So, let's do the first one.

Don't bite the something that feeds you.

Do you remember what it was?

Don't bite the hand that feeds you, okay?

Now, if you want, you can always pause the video right here and have a look at them,

Fill them in, think them out, and then join me again, or join me right now as we continue.

The second one.

Don't something the candle at both ends.

Don't burn the candle at both ends.

Don't judge a something by its cover.

Don't judge a book.

Don't cross that something till you come to it.

Don't cross that bridge.

Okay, there we go.

And don't something your chickens before they're hatched.

Do you remember that one?

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched, and the last one was don't bite off more than

you can something with "chew", okay?

Now, the way to remember them is to say them out loud.

It's really important to say things out loud, because then your ears have a chance to remember

Your audio memory, and say them out loud so you have a chance to pronounce them correctly,

and also remember them, okay?

And hopefully, you'll have a chance to use one of these when you're giving advice to

a friend, or in general, being more a part of English culture, okay?

So, if you want to practice these, please go to our website, www.engvid.com.

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