A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

so nasty. Caveat emptor, he used to say, it taking two to make a bargain. buying and

selling

It takes TWO to make a quarrel

1706 J. STEVENS Spanish & English Dict. s.v. Barajar, When one will not, two do

not Quarrel. 1732 T. FULLER Gnomologia no. 4942 There must be two at least to a

Quarrel. 1859 H. KINGSLEY Geoffrey Hamlyn II. xiii. It takes two to make a quarrel,

Cecil, and I will not be one. 1979 Times 3 Dec. 13 If it were not for the truism that it

takes at least two to make a quarrel, the French and the Germans.. could fairly claim that

the fault lay wholly with the United Kingdom. anger, quarrelsomeness

It takes TWO to tango

Probably based on earlier sayings of the it takes two to.. form (see above). Sung by Pearl
Bailey, the Hoffman and Manning song (quot. 1952) was a worldwide hit, giving this saying
instant international currency.

1952 HOFFMAN & MANNING Takes Two to Tango (song-title) 2 There are lots of

things you can do alone! But, takes two to tango. 1965 Listener 24 June 923 As for

negotiation.. the President has a firm, and melancholy, conviction: it takes two to tango.

1991 Times 22 May 14 Remember. It only takes two to tango, and neither of them has to

be you. 1999 Bella 25 May 16/2 Deep down, I know it takes two to tango and the blame

should lie with them equally. co-operation

TWO wrongs don’t make a right

Similar to TWO blacks don’t make a white.

1783 B. RUSH Letter 2 Aug. (1951) I. 308 Three wrongs will not make one right.

1814 J. KERR Several Trials of David Barclay 249 Two wrongs don’t make one right.

1905 S. WEYMAN Starvecrow Farm xxiv. He ought to see this!.. After all, two wrongs

don’t make a right. 1991 Washington Post 26 Apr. Even in law school, two wrongs don’t

make a right. 2002 Washington Times 30 Jan. A16 Moreover, in the Austrian view, two

wrongs don’t make a right. The central bank cannot undo its mistakes by reversing

course. good and evil