Children generally follow the example of their parents, but imitate their faults more surely than their virtues.

More Icelandic Proverbs

• An unlucky girl may make a good woman.
• Politeness costs little but yields much.
• A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
• It’s better to stand on your own feet than someone else’s.
• One half our fatherlands is the ocean.
• All sails do not suit every ship.
• A bad rower blames his oars.
• There men so poor that the only thing they have is money.
• Strong legs are needed to carry good days.
• All is not gold that glistereth.
• A story is only half told if there is only one side presented.
• The generous and bold have the best lives.
• Pissing in your shoes won’t keep your feet warm for long.
• It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest; Don’t wash your dirty linen in public.
• It is better to suffer in name the truth than being rewarded for lying.
• One enemy is too many; 100 friends are far too few.
• Often does one desire what one does not need.
• The more renowned woman often has fewer rings.
• The one who’s only tasted sweet cannot describe sourness.
• It is difficult to steal when the boss is a thief.
• The man is as good as the day is long.
• It is better one time to see things than one hundred times to hear about them.
• It is easier to look after hundred sheep than one girl.
• You can’t complain about the sea if you suffer shipwreck for the second time.
• Gold glitters in what is thrown away.
• Let him who has enough be satisfied.
• Fertile is water that runs under lava.