A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

EAST, west, home’s best

1859 W. K. KELLY Proverbs of all Nations 36 ‘East and west, at home the best’

(German). .. Ost und West, daheim das Best. 1869 C. H. SPURGEON John Ploughman’s

Talk xiii. East and west, Home is best. 1920 E. V. LUCAS Verena in Midst cxiii. None the

less I don’t envy the traveller. ‘East, west, home’s best.’ 1949 ‘C. MACKENZIE’ Hunting

Fairies xviii. I thought what a bully time I’d had in Scotland but all the same I was glad

to be going home because East West home’s best. 1994 ‘C. AIRD’ ‘Fair Cop’ in Injury

Time (1995) 27 As the police professional in Calleshire most involved with murder,

Detective Inspector Sloan would have been the last man in the world to subscribe to the

view that ‘East or West, Home’s Best’ since home was where most victims of murder

met their end. home

east see also when the WIND is in the east, ‘tis neither good for man nor beast.

EASY come, easy go

LIGHT come, light go and QUICKLY come, quickly go are less commonly found
expressions of the same concept. Cf. early 15th-cent. Fr. tost acquis tost se despens, soon
acquired, soon spent.

1650 A. BRADSTREET Tenth Muse 126 That which easily comes, as freely goes.

1832 S. WARREN Diary of Late Physician II. xi. ‘Easy come, easy go’ is.. characteristic

of rapidly acquired commercial fortunes. 1960 I. JEFFERIES Dignity & Purity ii. She’s

your only daughter, isn’t she. .. Well, easy come, easy go. 2002 National Review 11 Mar.

28 After all, if tattoos can be removed at public expense, why bother to think very

carefully about having them done in the first place? Easy come, easy go. getting and

spending

EASY does it

Also gently does it. Similar in form to it’s DOGGED as does it.

1863 T. TAYLOR Ticket-of-Leave Man IV. i. Easy does it, Bob. Hands off, and let’s

take things pleasantly. 1928 J. P. MCEVOY Showgirl 21 No high pressure stuff, sis. Easy

does it with Dick. 1972 A. PRICE Colonel Butler’s Wolf iii. Easy does it—the nails are

big, but they are old and brittle. 1981 S. RUSHDIE Midnight’s Children I. 103 Important

to build bridges.. between the faiths. Gently does it. tact; ways and means