A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

TREVOR-ROPER History & Imagination 9 Nothing succeeds like success, and if Hitler

had founded his empire.. we can well imagine how later historians would have treated

him. success

NOTHING venture, nothing gain

A variant of the next proverb. Cf. late 14th-cent. Fr. qui onques rien n’enprist riens
n’achieva, he who never undertook anything never achieved anything; 1481 CAXTON
Reynard (1880) xii. He that will wynne he muste laboure and auenture.

1624 T. HEYWOOD Captives IV. i. I see hee that nought venters, nothinge gaynes.

1668 C. SEDLEY Mulberry Garden III. ii. Who ever caught any thing With a naked

hook? nothing venture, nothing Win. 1876 BLACKMORE Cripps III. iv. We must all

have been in France.. if—well, never mind. Nothing venture, nothing win. 1967 D.

MORRIS Naked Ape iv. For him [the withdrawn individual] the old saying: ‘Nothing

ventured, nothing gained’ has been rewritten: ‘Nothing ventured, nothing lost’. 1979 A.

PRICE Tomorrow’s Ghost vii. That was decidedly interesting—’And Pearson Cole?’

Nothing venture, nothing gain. 1990 R. D. EDWARDS English School of Murder vi. ‘I’d

need a little training before I could take on a proper class.’ ‘Nonsense, old man,’ cried

Rich. ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ 2001 Washington Times 15 Dec. B2 Though

there are no guarantees, it does seem sad that a chance at true love was stillborn because

one of the parties had low self-esteem. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. boldness;

wanting and having; risk

NOTHING venture, nothing have

c 1385 CHAUCER Troilus & Criseyde II. 807 He which that nothing undertaketh,

Nothing n’acheveth, be hym looth or deere [be it hateful or pleasing to him]. 1546 J.

HEYWOOD Dialogue of Proverbs I. xi. E1 Noght venter noght haue. 1559 T. COOPER

Bibliotheca (ed. 3) s.v. Fortis, Fortune foretherethe [furthers] bolde aduenturers, nothyng

venture, nothyng haue. 1791 J. BOSWELL Life of Johnson II. 166 I am, however,

generally for trying ‘Nothing venture, nothing have’. 1841 DICKENS Old Curiosity Shop

I. xxix. I’m sorry the gentleman’s daunted—nothing venture, nothing have—but the

gentleman knows best. 1957 R. DOWNING All Change Here v. 36 ‘Jonah, aren’t you

taking a hell of a risk?’ ‘Of course. We all are. But then “nothing venture nothing have.”’

boldness; wanting and having; risk

nothing see also BELIEVE nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see;
BLESSED is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed; CIVILITY costs
nothing; the FROG in the well knows nothing of the sea; there is nothing like LEATHER; you