A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

(Marcin) #1
Diary of Edwardian Lady (1977) 132 By the 1.st of March the crows begin to search, By
the 1.st of April they are sitting still, By the 1.st of May they are flown away, Creeping
greedy back again With October wind and rain. calendar lore

It is the FIRST step that is difficult

The proverb has various forms. The story to which the French saying alludes is referred to
in quot. 1979. Cf. Fr. ce n’est que le premier pas qui coûte, it is only the first step that costs.


c 1596 A. MUNDAY et al. Sir Thomas More 11 Would I were so far on my journey.
The first stretch is the worst methinks. 1616 J. WITHALS Dict. (rev. ed.) 576 The first
step is as good as halfe ouer. 1876 A. B. MEACHAM Wi-Ne-Ma & her People iv. He had
fortified himself against the charms of the Indian maiden, as he thought, but consented to
visit her. Ah! my man, have you not learned that when the first step is taken the next
follows easily. 1979 J. BARNETT Backfire is Hostile xi. St. Denis was executed. ..
Afterwards he picked up his head and walked for six miles. .. The wise man said, ‘The
distance.. is not important. It was the first step that was difficult.’ 1991 ‘P. RUELL’ Only
Game vii. 193 What is it they said about that Frenchman who walked three miles after his
head had been chopped off? It’s the first step that counts. beginnings and endings

FIRST things first

1894 G. JACKSON (title) First things first; addresses to young men. 1920 W.
RILEY Yorkshire Suburb 136 The dear lady was.. incapable.. of putting first things first.
1979 ‘L. BLACK’ Penny Murders iv. They dropped the talking; first things first, as Kate
always felt about a pleasant meal. 2002 Spectator 10 Aug. 20 ‘I think the principle of
“first things first” does apply,’ says Al Gore, ‘and has to be followed if we are to have
any chance of success.’ orderliness

FIRST thoughts are best

1922 J. JOYCE Ulysses 354 First kiss does the trick. The propitious moment.
Something inside them goes pop. Mushy like, tell by their eye, on the sly. First thoughts
are best. Remember that till their dying day. 1929 ‘P. OLDFELD’ Alchemy Murder viii.
95 ‘I have thought it over. First thoughts are best.’ 1943 M. LOWRY Letter 7 Sept. in S.
E. Grace Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 427 Don’t shrink the Branches too much—first
thoughts often best. decision and indecision
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