A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

OLD sins cast long shadows

Cf. 1638 SUCKLING Aglaura v. in Plays (1971) 110 Our sins, like to our shadowes, When
our day is in its glorie scarce appear: Towards our evening how great and monstrous they are!

1924 D. VANE Scar xxiii. ‘You don’t look well. .. No fresh worry, I hope.’ ‘No,’

wearily. ‘Only old sins have long shadows.’ 1957 V. BRITTAIN Testament of Experience

I. iii. If he hadn’t been killed, they would probably never have become what they were. ..

Bygone battles, like old sins, cast long shadows. 1987 C. GRAHAM Killings at Badger’s

Drift viii. ‘The father was no good. Drove his poor wife into her grave.’ ‘So I

understood.’ ‘Old sins cast long shadows.’ past; wrong-doers

OLD soldiers never die

a 1920 J. FOLEY (song-title) Old soldiers never die. 1930 BROPHY & PARTRIDGE

Songs & Slang of British Soldier 1914–18 II. 67 Old soldiers never die—They simply

fade away. 1933 F. RICHARDS Old Soldiers never Die xxviii. We generally wound up

our evenings with the old song, set to the tune of a well-known hymn, ‘Old soldiers never

die, they simply fade away’. 1940 Times 6 Apr. 4 There is an old saying that ‘Old soldiers

never die’—but they may starve.. when other State pensioners are receiving increased

benefits. 2000 Washington Times 7 Apr. A18 Meanwhile, regardless of the case’s

outcome, Gen. Kennedy plans to retire this summer, proving, once again, that old soldiers

never die. These days, they just file harassment charges. old age; soldiers

old see also BETTER be an old man’s darling, than a young man’s slave; you cannot
CATCH old birds with chaff; there’s no FOOL like an old fool; there’s many a GOOD tune
played on an old fiddle; HANG a thief when he’s young and he’ll no’ steal when he’s old; a
MAN is as old as he feels, and a woman as old as she looks; NEVER too old to learn; you
can’t put NEW wine in old bottles; it is best to be OFF with the old love before you are on
with the new; an old POACHER makes the best gamekeeper; you cannot SHIFT an old tree
without it dying; you can’t TEACH an old dog new tricks; YOUNG folks think old folks to be
fools but old folks know young folks to be fools; YOUNG men may die but old men must die;
YOUNG saint, old devil.

You cannot make an OMELETTE without breaking eggs

Cf. Fr. on ne fait pas d’omelette sans casser des œufs, one does not make an omelette