A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

door see also a CREAKING door hangs longest; a GOLDEN key can open any door; when
ONE door shuts, another opens; OPPORTUNITY never knocks twice at any man’s door; a
POSTERN door makes a thief; when POVERTY comes in at the door, love flies out of the
window; it is too late to shut the STABLE-door after the horse has bolted.

doorstep see if every man would SWEEP his own doorstep the city would soon be clean.

When in DOUBT, do nowt

Nowt is a dialect form of ‘nought’ = ‘nothing’, here used for the rhyme.

1874 G. J. WHYTE-MELVILLE Uncle John xx. I should wait. When in doubt what

to do, he is a wise man who does nothing. 1884 G. WEATHERLY ’Little Folks’ Proverb

Painting Book 64 Err ever on the side that’s safe, And when in doubt, abstain. 1917 J. C.

BRIDGE Cheshire Proverbs 155 When in doubt, do nowt. This shows the cautious

Cheshireman at his best. 1952 H. CECIL Ways & Means ii. I don’t know. I think it’s one

of those occasions where it’s best to follow the maxim: When in doubt, don’t. 1972 E.

GRIERSON Confessions of Country Magistrate vii. ‘When in doubt say nowt’ is a

precept enshrined over most magistrates’ courts. 1981 E. AGRY Assault Force i. What to

do?.. ‘When in doubt, do nowt,’ had always been my grandfather’s advice. action and

inaction; decision and indecision

down see up like a ROCKET, down like a stick; what goes UP must come down.

drag see with a SWEET tongue and kindness, you can drag an elephant by a hair.

Whosoever DRAWS his sword against the prince must throw the scabbard away

Whoever seeks to assassinate or depose a monarch must remain constantly prepared to
defend himself, and his sword will never be able to return to its scabbard.

1604 R. DALLINGTON View of France F3V His King, against whom when yee

drawe the sword, ye must throw the scabberd into the riuer. 1659 J. HOWELL Proverbs

(English) 17 Who draweth his sword against his Prince, must throw away the scabbard.

1962 S. E. FINER Man on Horseback viii. [The Military] must still fear the results of a

fall from power. .. ‘Whosoever draws his sword against the prince must throw the

scabbard away’.. pithily express[es] the logic of the situation. hope and despair; rulers