What really are proverbs, where do they come from, how are they disseminated and what function do they have in modern society? Those are questions that are often asked when people reflect on the ...

On the surface, the idea is straightforward. Give someone a fish and they eat for a day. Give them a fishing rod and they can keep feeding themselves. The contrast is clear enough that you don’t ...

From old chestnuts like “no pain, no gain” to sports wisdom like “the best offence is a good defence”, there seems to be a proverb for everything. There’s good reason: proverbs touch on just about ...

PROF Wolfgang Mieder (born 1944) is best known for his work on paremiology. Paroemias means proverbs and paremiology is the study of proverbs. Mieder says that the discussion as to what proverb is and ...

“If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.” That was one piece of advice passed along at the just-concluded Democratic National Convention. The words were spoken by New ...