A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

1974 E. STONE Donald writes no More xv. No one can say why Donald Goines and

Shirley Sailor were murdered. The ghetto philosophy, ‘what goes around comes around’,

is the only answer most people can give. It is probably the answer Donald Goines himself

would have provided. 1982 H. STEIN Ethics 108 At this juncture another, more recent,

adage springs to mind: What goes around comes around. It is, all in all, a terrific

statement, and I know a lot of people who would turn handsprings if only they could be

assured it was true. 1989 Washington Times 19 Apr. F1 No sooner had the royal accusers

sent Louis XVI and his queen to the guillotine, than they themselves were being hoist

onto the tumbrels by men whose own heads would later drop into the basket. What goes

around comes around. 2007 New Scientist 17 Nov. 7 What goes around comes around.

Unfortunately, no such karma figures in plans to deflect asteroids on a collision course

with Earth. fate and fatalism; retribution

goes see also there goes more to MARRIAGE than four bare legs in a bed; PRIDE goes
before a fall; what goes UP must come down.

When the GOING gets tough, the tough get going

A favourite family saying of Joseph P. Kennedy (1888–1969), US politician, businessman,
and father of President John F. Kennedy.

1962 J. H. CUTLER ‘Honey Fitz’ xx. Joe [Kennedy] made his children stay on their

toes. .. He would bear down on them and tell them, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough

get going.’ 1970 New Yorker 3 Oct. 33 Baron Marcel Bich, the millionaire French pen

magnate probably spoke for them all last month when he said, ‘When the going gets

tough, the tough get going!’ (’Quand le chemin devient dur, les durs se cheminent!’) 1979

J. CRUMLEY Last Good Kiss xvi. ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going?’ she

asked slyly. ‘Make fun if you want to, but that’s what character is all about.’ 2001

Washington Post 26 July C13 (Hagar the Horrible comic strip) ‘I realize we’re lost. .. But

always remember—“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”!’ ‘I know. But

which way do we go?’ opportunity, taken; politics; stress

GOLD may be bought too dear

1546 J. HEYWOOD Dialogue of Proverbs II. vii. 14 Well (quoth she) a man maie

bie golde to dere. 1642 T. FULLER Holy State II. xxi. Fearing to find the Proverb true,

That Gold may be bought too dear, they returned to their ships. 1889 J. LUBBOCK

Pleasures of Life (ed. 2) II. ii. It is well worth having.. but it does not requite too great a

sacrifice. A wise proverb tells us that gold may be bought too dear. 1908 Times 28 Nov.11

Gold may be bought too dear; and little improvements in the regulation of the drink