A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

my enemy is my friend.’ 2002 National Review 3 May (online ed.) Or was she [Barbie]—

as conservatives insisted, taking the view that ‘the enemy of my feminist enemy is my

friend’—simply good childhood fun? enemies; friends

enemy see also the BEST is the enemy of the good; it is good to make a BRIDGE of gold
to a flying enemy; the GOOD is the enemy of the best; there is no LITTLE enemy; SAVE us
from our friends; if you SIT by the river for long enough, you will see the body of your enemy
float by.

ENGLAND is the paradise of women, the hell of horses, and the purgatory of servants

Cf. 1558 BONAVENTURE DES PERIERS Nouvelles Recreations N1VParis ..c’est le
paradis des femmes, l’enfer des mules, et le purgatorie des soliciteurs; 1583 R. D. Mirrour of
Mirth K1VParis is a paradise for women, a hel for mens horses, and a Purgatorye for those
that followe suits of Law.

1591 J. FLORIO Second Fruits 205 She takes her ease, and followes her busines at

home. .. England is the paradise of women, the purgatory of men, and the hell of horses.

1617 F. MORYSON Itinerary III. I. iii. England.. is said to be the Hell of Horses, the

Purgatory of Seruants, and the Paradice of Weomen. 1787 F. GROSE Provincial Glossary

s.v. England, England is the paradise of women, hell of horses, and purgatory of servants.

1962 E. S. TURNER What Butler Saw i. An ancient proverb said that England was ‘the

hell of horses, the purgatory of servants and the paradise of women’. When the eighteenth

century came in, England was still the hell of horses, but there were loud complaints that

it had become the paradise of servants and the purgatory of women. national

characteristics

ENGLAND’S difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity

1856 Tribune 19 Jan. 188 Some few years ago, we followed O’Connell, and when he

declared that ‘England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity’, we threw our hats in the air.

1916 G. B. SHAW in New York Times (Mag.) 9 Apr. 2 The cry that ‘England’s Difficulty

Is Ireland’s Opportunity’ is raised in the old senseless, spiteful way as a recommendation

to stab England in the back when she is fighting some one else. 1969 T. PAKENHAM

Year of Liberty i. Successive plantations—of Scottish Presbyterians in Ulster.. did not

secure Ireland. The Catholics’ watchword remained: ‘England’s difficulty is Ireland’s

opportunity.’ 1997 Times 15 Oct. 8 Britain’s difficulty became Ireland’s opportunity last

night when.. Sir Denis Mahon presented three Baroque paintings originally destined for

Liverpool to the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. opportunity; politics