1876 I. BANKS Manchester Man III. xiii. However, there is nothing so bad but it
might be worse. 1885 E. J. HARDY How to be Happy though Married xxi. Let us resolve
to look at the bright side of things... ‘Nothing so bad but it might have been worse.’
1908 Times 5 Oct. 3 Farmers.. will regard the.. meteorological changes as illustrating the
ancient axiom to the effect that circumstances are never so bad that they cannot be worse.
good and evil; optimismNOTHING so bold as a blind mare
a 1628 J. CARMICHAELL Proverbs in Scots no. 1435 The blind horse is hardiest.
1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 266 Nothing so bold as a blind Mare. 1922 J. BUCHAN
Huntingtower x. He spoke of the still unconquered enemy with.. disrespect, so that Mrs
Morran was moved to observe that there was ‘naething sae bauld as a blind mear’.
boldness; ignoranceThere is NOTHING so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse
A proverb asserting the benefit of horse-riding to health.
1906 G. W. E. RUSSELL Social Silhouettes xxxii. The Squire will wind up.. with an
apocryphal saying which he attributes to Lord Palmerston—‘There’s nothing so good for
the inside of a man as the outside of a horse.’ 1946 M. C. SELF Horseman’s
Encyclopaedia 338 ‘There is something about the outside of a horse which is good for the
inside of a man.’ This adage is wiser than might first appear. But one should not consider
just the hours spent in the saddle as beneficial. 1987 Time 28 Dec. 52 There is nothing
better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse. Ronald Reagan President.
healthNOTHING succeeds like success
Cf. Fr. rien ne réussit comme le succès, nothing succeeds like success.
1867 A. D. RICHARDSON Beyond Mississippi xxxiv. ‘Nothing succeeds like
success.’ There was much Southern sympathy on the island; now all are our dear friends.
1872 W. BESANT Ready-Money Mortiboy I. ix. In Mr. Mortiboy’s judgment no proverb
could be better than.. ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ Success dazzled him. 1980 H.