“People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
What does it mean?
A phrase one can say meaning people should not criticize others for faults that they have themselves.
Where does it come from?
It originated during the early Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were a tumultuous, yet fascinating period of history: Robert the Bruce, the Black Death, and Canterbury Tales.
According to some online sources, the phrase was first noted in Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Troilus and Criseyde’ in 1385. But, it is thought that Chaucer took it from the bible. John 8:7 says, “Let him without sin, be the first to throw a stone.”
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“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
What does it mean?
This idiom means that the most noticeable (or loudest) problems (or people) are the ones most likely to get attention. It is alternately expressed as “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”.
Where does it come from?
The origin of the squeaky wheel idiom is unknown, but its current form is attributed to American humorist Josh Billings who is said to have popularized it in his putative poem “The Kicker” written in 1870.
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I hate to be a kicker,
I always long for peace,
But the wheel that does the squeaking,
Is the one that gets the grease.
However, this poem has been attributed to various authors, anonymous or otherwise, and its provenance has never been verified.
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Never look a gift horse in the mouth. What is a gift-horse? Why shouldn’t you look in its mouth? What does this idiom actually mean?
A gift horse is a horse that was a gift, quite simply. When given a horse, it would be bad manners to inspect the horse’s mouth to see if it has bad teeth. This can be applied as an analogy to any gift: Don’t inspect it to make sure it matches some standard you have, just be grateful and say thank you!
Where does it come from?
As with most proverbs the origin is ancient and unknown. We have some clues with this one however. The phrase appears in print in English in 1546, as “don’t look a given horse in the mouth”, in John Heywood’s A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe tongue.
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