wife see a BLIND man’s wife needs no paint; CAESAR’S wife must be above suspicion; a
DEAF husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple; if you would be HAPPY for a
week take a wife; the HUSBAND is always the last to know; my SON is my son till he gets
him a wife, but my daughter’s my daughter all the days of her life; he that will THRIVE must
first ask his wife.
A WILFUL man must have his way1816 SCOTT Antiquary I. vi. A wilful man must have his way. 1907 W. DE
MORGAN Alice-for-Short xxxvii. ‘A wilful man will have his way,’ says Peggy,
laughing.. .Alice replies: ‘Never mind!’ 1931 J. BUCHAN Blanket of Dark xii. ‘Take one
of my men with you.’ .. He shook his head. .. ‘A wilful man must have his way,’ she said.
obstinacyWILFUL waste makes woeful wantThe connection between waste and want predates the present form of this proverb, e.g.
1576 R. EDWARDS Paradise of Dainty Devices 88 For want is nexte to waste, and shame
doeth synne ensue.
1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 353 Wilful waste makes woeful want. 1866
GASKELL Wives & Daughters II. xxix. Now young folks go off to Paris, and think
nothing of the cost: and it’s well if wilful waste don’t make woeful want before they die.
1946 ‘R. FINNEGAN’ Lying Ladies vi. ‘Well, do you want the drink or not?’.. Regan..
emptied his glass and shoved forward. ‘Willful waste makes woeful want,’ he declared.
action and consequence; wasteHe that WILL not when he may, when he will he shall have naya 1000 in Anglia (1889) XI. 388 Nu sceal œlc man efsten, thœt he to gode gecerre
tha hwile the he muge, thelœste, gyf he nu nelle tha hwile the he muge, eft thone he wyle,
he ne mœig [Now shall each man hasten to turn to God while he may, lest if he will not
now while he may, later when he will, he may not]. 1303 R. BRUNNE Handlyng Synne
(EETS) 1. 4795 He that wyl nat when he may, He shal nat, when he wyl. c 1450 in Brown
& Robbins Index of Middle English Verse (1943) 186 He that will not when he may,
When he will he shall have nay [denial]. 1624 BURTON Anatomy of Melancholy (ed. 2)
III. ii. They omit oportunities. .. He that will not when he may, When he will he shall haue