As They Say In Zanzibar. David Crystal

less by being known too little than by being known too much LATIN

      20 If you haven’t much to do, start cleaning your own backyard USA

      21 It takes little effort to watch someone carry a load CHINA

      22 To part is to die a little FRANCE

      23 It’s a small world ENGLAND

      24 A little drop of water silences a boiling pot GERMANY

      25 Small cares make many words, great ones are mute GERMANY

      26 When the bed is small lie in the centre SPAIN

      27 A small bed will not hold two persons NIGERIA

      28 A tree with ripe fruit needs little shaking SWITZERLAND

      29 Least said, soonest mended ENGLAND

      30 Little said is easy mended; nothing said needs no mending IRELAND

      31 Great consolation may grow out of the smallest saying SWITZERLAND

6 LARGE AMOUNT

      1 Much treasure, many moths ESTONIA

      2 A big crop is best, but a little crop will do SCOTLAND

      3 The bird can drink much, but the elephant drinks more SENEGAL

      4 The peace-maker gets two-thirds of the blows MONTENEGRO

      5 They that love most speak least SCOTLAND

      6 Discretion is the better part of valour ENGLAND

      7 A fox knows much; a hedgehog one great thing GREECE

      8 Lovers have much to relate – but it is always the same thing GERMANY

      9 Many donkeys need much straw SPAIN: BASQUE

      10 Many drops make a puddle NETHERLANDS

      11 Too much courtesy is discourtesy JAPAN

      12 Too much discussion will lead to a row CÔTE D’IVOIRE

      13 What is inflated too much will burst into fragments ETHIOPIA

      14 Where there is most mind there is least money LATIN

      15 Who sieves too much, keeps the rubbish BELGIUM

      16 Think much, say little, write less FRANCE

      17 The fish said, ‘I have much to say, but my mouth is full of water.’ GEORGIA

      18 Those who speak much must either know a lot or lie a lot GERMANY

      19 Drinking a little too much is drinking a great deal too much GERMANY

      20 Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration USA

      21 The roughest stone becomes smooth when it is much rolled SWITZERLAND

      22 Too much tying loosens SYRIA

      23 Who knows much, mistakes much ARMENIA

      24 If you engrave it too much it will become a hole INDIA

      25 A reasonable amount of fleas is good for a dog; they keep him from broodin’ on being a dog USA

7 INCREASE – DECREASE

      1 Little by little grow the bananas REPUBLIC OF CONGO

      2 The first stage of folly is to consider oneself wise BELGIUM

      3 Friendship is steps KENYA

      4 Add caution to caution JAPAN

      5 Is it necessary to add acid to the lemon? INDIA

      6 Quick work – double work MONTENEGRO

      7 Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still CHINA

      8 No matter how full the river, it still wants to grow REPUBLIC OF CONGO

      9 One good turn deserves another ENGLAND

      10 The sea is made bigger even by one drop RUSSIA

      11 Two things make one either greater or smaller, praise and shadows GERMANY

      12 The more one sleeps the less one lives PORTUGAL

      13 More haste, less speed ENGLAND

      14 Another day, another dollar USA

      15 A bald-headed man cannot grow hair by getting excited about it REPUBLIC OF CONGO

      16 The more you stroke a cat, the more it lifts its tail ESTONIA

      17 A rolling stone gathers no moss ENGLAND

      18 A stationary stone gathers moss RUSSIA

8 ONE ALONE

      1 One dog can’t fight IRELAND

      2 Once is no custom NETHERLANDS

      3 The wise person is cheated only once FINLAND

      4 No stone ever falls alone BELGIUM

      5 In every family’s cooking-pot is one black spot CHINA

      6 We boil our rice only once INDIA

      7 Who hears but one bell hears but one sound FRANCE

      8 Who hears music feels his solitude FRANCE

      9 Solitude is full of God SERBIA

      10 Hit one ring and the whole chain will resound SOUTH AFRICA

      11 One link broken, the whole chain is broken GERMANY

      12 One spot spots the whole dress BELGIUM

      13 One bad pipe ruins the entire organ NETHERLANDS

      14 One rotten egg spoils the whole pudding GERMANY

      15 One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel ENGLAND

      16 The eyes have one language everywhere ENGLAND

      17 Heroism consists in hanging on one minute longer NORWAY

      18 Rather once cry your heart out than always sigh CHINA

      19 The person who steals once is always a thief SPAIN

      20 Between two points one cannot draw more than one straight line DENMARK

      21 Empty gossip jumps with one leg ESTONIA

      22 It is better to be once in the church sleigh than always in the back runners FINLAND

      23 Those who have only one bow should be content with one fiddle GERMANY

      24 One bell serves a parish ITALY

      25 A single bracelet doesn’t jingle GUINEA

      26 Those who have once had luck cannot always call themselves unlucky BELGIUM

      27 A hundred aunts is not the same as one mother SIERRA LEONE

      28 One thread for the needle, one love for the heart SUDAN

      29 Once a crook, always a crook USA

      30 Beware the man with only one gun USA

      31 When a single hair has fallen from your head, you are not yet bald SIERRA LEONE

      32 A fox knows much; a hedgehog one great thing GREECE

      33 Never less alone than when alone LATIN

      34 If you play alone, you will win SYRIA

9 ONE OF TWO

      1 One hand washes the other; both hands wash the face ALBANIA

      2 If a string has one end, then it has another end CHINA

      3 If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily CHINA

      4 Never try to catch two frogs with one hand CHINA

      5 You cannot hold two water melons in one hand IRAN

      6 The story is only half told when one side tells it ICELAND

      7 When two ride on one horse, one must sit behind ENGLAND

      8 Too many affairs are like pumpkins in water; one