Hindsight is 20/20. Possible interpretation: forbidden things are the most tempting (Biblical origin) Alternate: If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. He who dares wins (motto of the Special Air Service (aka SAS)) Good men are scarce.
A pot of milk is ruined by a drop of poison. Simple things amuse simple minds Possible Interpretation: Women do not like the nice guys. Followup: And we all know what May flowers bring...Pilgrims. The key to all action lies in belief. He's all hat and no cattle.
Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today. (from Alice in Wonderland) Doctors make the worst patients. It is not so much the gift that is given but the way in which the gift is driven. A good beginning makes a good ending. Hunger makes good kitchen. Also: Don't shut the gate after the horse has bolted. Handsome is as handsome does. After a storm comes a calm. A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant never taste of death but once.
Variant: No man can serve two masters, let alone mistresses. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours A word spoken is past recalling. Penny wise, pound foolish.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Repeating a lie doesn't make that lie true. Think globally, act locally. The opposite form also exists, Clothes don't make the man. If it is broken, fix it... with duct tape. Alternative: What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If you practice wrong you will always do it wrong
Truth will out. Where one door shuts, another opens. William Shakespeare. Variant attributed to Hugh Hefner: "No nudes is bad nudes Possible Interpretation: A rhyme to remember how to avoid a hangover. Possible Interpretation: Women do not like the nice guys.
He that stands for nothing will fall for everything. Zebras aren't black and white, they are white and black. 'Well done' is better than 'Well said' Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. Judge not, lest ye be judged. Possible Interpretation: All style and no substance. He who pays the piper calls the tune. Politics makes strange bedfellows.
If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Have not want not. said by Lee Field Walstad You can't tell a book by its cover. Scratch a Russian and you will find a Tartar. A creaking door hangs longest. and A creaking gate hangs long.
It ain't over till it's over You win a few, you lose a few. Alternate: If something is worth doing, someone will have already done it. Don't judge a book by its cover. It's a cracked pitcher that goes longest to the well. Meaning: Admit it when there is some good in an adversary. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. What goes around comes around.