A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

to sea for pleasure’d sure go to hell for pastime.’ idiosyncrasy

The SEA refuses no river

1614 T. GENTLEMAN England’s Way to win Wealth 45 (marginal note) The Sailors

Prouerbe: The Sea and the Gallowes refuse none. 1699 E. WARD Trip to New England 4

It often puts me in mind of the old Proverb, The Sea and the Gallows refuses none. 1850

H. MELVILLE White Jacket II. xliii. ‘The gallows and the sea refuse nothing,’ is a very

old sea saying. 1969 R. NYE Tales I told my Mother 124 The sea refuses no river. greed

sea see also there are as good FISH in the sea as ever came out of it; the FROG in the well
knows nothing of the sea.

sea-maws see KEEP your own fish-guts for your own sea-maws.

search see on the FIRST of March, the crows begin to search.

SECOND thoughts are best

Cf. EURIPIDES Hippolytus 1. 436 the second thoughts
are invariably wiser.

1577 HOLINSHED Chronicles 438 Oftentymes it chaunceth, that latter thoughts are

better aduised than the first. 1581 G. PETTIE tr. S. Guazzo’s Civil Conversation i. 23V I

finde verified that Prouerbe, That the second thoughts are euer the best. 1681 DRYDEN

Spanish Friar II. 22 Second thoughts, they say, are best: I’ll consider of it once again.

1813 BYRON Letter 11 Dec. (1974) III. 196 In composition I do not think second

thoughts are best, though second expressions may improve the first ideas. 1908 C. FITCH

Beau Brummel I. i. Second thoughts seem to be always the best. 1981 P. O’DONNELL

Xanadu Talisman v. That was my first thought. .. But second thoughts are always best.

prudence

secret see THREE may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

What you SEE is what you get