proverbs run in pairs

English

Alternative forms

• proverbs come in pairs, proverbs go in pairs, proverbs hunt in pairs, proverbs often come in pairs, proverbs should be sold in pairs, proverbs should be writ in pairs, proverbs should come in pairs, proverbs should go in pairs

Proverb

proverbs run in pairs

1. Every proverb seems to be contradicted by another proverb with an opposing or contradictory message, such as "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work."
   • 1863, Sir Richard Burton, Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains, volume 1, London: Tinsley, page 309:

     Moreover, all the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other.

Usage notes

• Of the many forms which this expression takes, no single one appears to be particularly dominant.