M

Madman A madman is like a man who is absent. (Roman) A madman is punished by his madness. (Roman) Every madman thinks all others insane. (Roman) Make way for a madman and a bull. (Spanish) Make way for madmen and fools. (Japanese) The one who claps hands for a madman to dance is himself insane. (Yoruban) There is a pinch of the madman in every great man. (French) We are all something of a musician, poet, and madman. (Spanish)

Magic Don’t give in to spells, they won’t give in to you. (Irish) Sleight of hand is no magic. (German)

Magpie One magpie for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a wedding, four for a birth. (French)

Maiden Glass and maidens are easily broken. (Korean) Maidens say no, and mean yes. (German) You must judge a maiden at the kneading trough, and not in a dance. (Danish)

Make It is always possible to make something good from something bad. (Mexican) What man has made, man can destroy. (German)

Malady Desperate maladies require desperate remedies. (French) Strong folks have strong ailments. (German)

Malevolent The malevolent have hidden teeth. (Roman)

Malice Bear no malice. (Roman) If you do not have malice within, it will not come from without. (Albanian) Malice drinks its own poison. (Egyptian) Many are the ways of malice in men. (Roman) Though malice may darken truth, it cannot put it out. (Roman)

Mallet Mallet strikes chisel; chisel splits wood. (Chinese)

Man, Men A man at five may be a fool at fifteen. (French) A man at sixteen will prove a child at sixty. (French) A man can have nothing worse over him than another man. (Yiddish) A man crows like a rooster when young, works like a burro when he is older, and growls

like a pig when aged. (Mexican) A man dances all the same, though he may dance against his will. (Danish) A man does not wander far from where his corn is roasting. (Nigerian) A man if he lives alone is either a god or a demon. (Roman) A man is a king in his own house. (Roman) A man is a lion in his own cause. (Scottish) A man is a lion when single, a peacock when engaged, and a beast of burden when

married. (Spanish) A man is bound by his word, an ox with a strong cord. (Danish) A man is judged by his clothes. (Roman) A man is judged by his deeds, not by his words. (Russian) A man is judged of by his companions. (Roman) A man is known by the company he keeps. (American) A man is known by the eye, and the face discovers wisdom. (Irish)

A man is not known till he cometh to honor. (Dutch) A man is what he is, not what he used to be. (Yiddish) A man knows no more to any purpose than he practices. (French) A man lives long in his native place. (Irish) A man may cause his own dog to bite him. (French) A man ought to be born either a king or a fool. (Roman) A man overboard, a mouth the less. (Dutch) A man takes his own wherever he finds it. (French) A true man speaks not against his enemies. (Chinese) A true man, though hungry, will not complain of belly ache. (Chinese) A wicked man is his own hell. (English) A young man idle, an old man needy. (Danish) All men are good-natured until you ask their help. (Chinese) All men are not cast in the same mold. (American) All men can’t be first. (English) All men do not admire and love the same things. (Roman) All men think all men mortal – but themselves. (English) As the boy, so the man. (English) Beware the man of two faces. (Dutch) Different men like different things. (Roman) Every man has his lot, and a wide world before him. (Danish) Every man is dearest to himself. (German) Four things put a man beside himself: women, tobacco, cards, and wine. (Spanish) He is a man, who acts like a man. (Danish) How insignificant men are, when I think of it. (Roman) Man fools himself: he prays for a long life and he fears old age. (Chinese) Man is a beast to man. (German) Man is a wolf to his fellow man. (Roman) Man is Heaven and earth in miniature. (Chinese) Man is like a banana: when he leaves the bunch, he gets skinned. (American) Man is the only animal who can be skinned twice. (American) Man is the soul of all creatures. (Japanese) Man is the soul of the universe. (Unknown) Man is to man either a god or a wolf. (German) Men are the same, except their names. (German) Mind other men, but mostly yourself. (German) Once a man, twice a child. (Jamaican) Ruling men is one thing, entertaining them is another. (Roman) Silent men are deep and dangerous. (Japanese) The older the man, the darker the eyes. (Unknown) The silent man is most trusted. (Danish) There is more agreement among snakes then among men. (Roman) Today a man, tomorrow a mouse. (English) What’s in a man will come out of a man. (Yiddish)

Man and Woman A man of straw is better than a woman of gold. (Portuguese) A man of straw needs a woman of gold. (Italian) Man and woman, fire and chaff. (Roman) Men are as old as they feel, and women as they look. (Italian) Man is fire, woman is tow, and the Devil comes and blows. (French) Man without woman, is head without body; woman without man, is body without

head. (German) Thoughts are male, words are female. (Italian) Who’s the man that was never fooled by a woman? (German)

Mankind All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are

moveable, and those that move. (Arabian)

Manly He that is not brave at twenty, strong at thirty, rich at forty, or experienced at fifty, will

never be brave, strong, rich, or prudent. (Spanish)

Manners As are the times, so are the manners. (Spanish) As many places, so many manners. (Unknown) Better good manners than good looks. (Irish) Different times, different manners. (Italian) Evil contact corrupts good manners. (Italian) Manners make the man. (American) Manners maketh man. (English) Similarity of manners is more conducive to friendship than affinity by marriage. (Roman) The man may be bad whilst his manners are not. (Chinese) The rough manners of the vulgar are contagious. (Roman)

Mansion A mansion pulled down is half built up again. (French)

Manure The foot of the owner is the best manure for his land. (Danish)

Many Many grains make a heap. (Roman) Many grains of sand will sink a ship. (Danish) Many little rivulets make a great river. (Danish) Many mosquitoes can drive away oxen and sheep. (Japanese) Many open a door to shut a window. (Dutch) Many overpower few. (Irish) So many Hamans and but one Purim. (Yiddish)

So many heads, so many brains. (Italian) So many heads, so many minds. (Danish) So many lands, so many customs. (Roman) So many men, so many fools. (Italian) So many men, so many opinions. (German) So many men, so many sentiments: each has his own way. (Roman) So many mists in March, so many frosts in May. (English)

Mare The mare’s kick does not harm the colt. (Spanish) The mare’s kick caresses the colt. (Portuguese)

Market, Marketplace Do not seek in the market what you have at home. (Spanish) Everyone sells his rags in the marketplace. (Egyptian) Not everyone at the market is there to buy or sell. (Spanish) Three women and a goose make a market. (Italian) You must sell as the markets go. (English)

Marriage, Marriages A marriage of two has God as its author. (Spanish) Better a dove on the plate than a wood grouse in the mating place. (Russian) Better a fair pair of heels than a halter. (Russian) By day they fight, to bed at night. (Yiddish) Dream of a funeral and you hear of a marriage. (Chinese) Early marriage, long love. (German) Far and near is the bond between woman and man. (Korean) In marriage, choose a man for his courage and a woman for her charm. (Japanese) It takes two to make a marriage. (German) Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. (Poor Richard) Like blood, like means, and like age, make the happiest marriage. (German) Love comes after marriage. (Unknown) Love does wonders, but money makes marriage. (French) Marriage: two hearts that beat as one. (American) Marriage is a battlefield and not a bed of roses. (German) Marriage is a lottery. (Roman) Marriage is a strange affinity. (Japanese) Marriage is heaven and hell. (German) Marriages are all happy: it’s having breakfast together that causes all the trouble. (Irish) Marriages are made in Heaven. (Unknown) Marriages are made in Heaven, and spoiled by Hell. (Spanish) Marriages are not as they are made, but as they turn out. (Italian) Matches are made by chance. (Japanese) Mattresses cure marital ills. (Spanish) No feast without roasting, no marriage without torture. (Irish)

Not all who make love make marriages. (Russian) One marriage is never celebrated but another grows out of it. (German) The conjunction of man and woman is of the law of nature. (Roman) The difference is wide that the sheets will not decide. (English) The most difficult mountain to cross is the threshold. (Danish) The only cure for love is marriage. (Irish) The parents of a handsome daughter can choose a handsome son-in-law. (Korean) There’s more to a marriage than four bare legs in a bed. (English) There’s more to a marriage than husband and wife. (Spanish) To eat, drink, and sleep together is marriage, methinks. (French) Where there’s marriage without love, there will be love without marriage. (Poor

Richard)

Marry, Married A good man does not get a good wife; and a leper marries a flowering branch.