Rodgers Dictionary of Proverbs
You cannot shoe a running horse.
You cannot squeeze blood out of a stone.
You cannot stop a whore, not even with a
hundred horses.
You cannot stop birds from flying over your
head, but you can stop them nesting in
your hair.
You cannot stop planting cereals just
because birds are going to feast on them.
You cannot stop your conscious from
bothering you even if you cover yourself
with ten blankets.
You cannot strike a face that is smiling.
You cannot sup soup with a fork.
You cannot swallow hot milk, nor can you
throw it away.
You cannot swim against the flow of water,
you will get tired and be swept away.
You cannot take a cow from a man who has
none.
You cannot take a shirt from a naked man.
You cannot take hawks without climbing
some cliffs.
You cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
You cannot teach the old gorilla the road.
You cannot tell a hungry child that you gave
him food yesterday.
You cannot tell from a man's clothes how
much he is making, but you must look at
his wife's.
You cannot think you could teach a fish to
swim.
You cannot throw a word out of a song.
You cannot tickle a hungry person.
You cannot tie up a dog with a chain of
sausages.
You cannot turn blood into water.
You cannot unscramble eggs.
You cannot wage war without the sound of
gunpowder.
You cannot weld cake-dough to cast iron,
nor a girl to an old man.
You cannot win a lottery without buying a
ticket.
You cannot work for food when there is no
food for work.
You cannot worship an unknown saint.
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You cannot write down a meaningful
silence.
You canot know the bugs of a bed that you
have not lain on.
You can't be a howling success by simply
howling.
You cant be in the town and be in the
country too.
You can't be the head of a family unless you
show yourself both stupid and deaf.
You can't become a teacher before your
taught.
You can't bind a cloud even with copper
chains.
You can't blame a dentist for looking down
at the mouth.
You can't blame the axe for the noise made
by the chicken you are about to
slaughter.
You can't blow against the wind.
You can't build a barrel round a bung hole.
You can't buy an inch of time with an inch
of gold.
You can't buy fate.
You can't buy heaven with money.
You can't catch a cub without going into the
tiger's den.
You can't catch a louse with one finger.
You can't catch fish on a dry line.
You can't catch skunks with mice.
You can't catch trout with dry breeches.
You can't catch two frogs with one hand.
You can't chew with somebody else's teeth.
You can't claim heaven as your own if you
are just going to sit under it.
You can't clap with one hand only.
You can't complain about the sea if you
suffer shipwreck for the second time.
You can't dance on one leg.
You can't direct the wind, but you can adjust
your sails.
You can't do everything at once.
You can't drive donkeys without a stick, nor
horses without spurs.