Every man is defenseless unless he has a brother or a friend.

More Icelandic Proverbs

• 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.
• He who knows only few things, has little to forget.
• Hate not the man, but the weakness.
• Pissing in your shoes won’t keep your feet warm for long.
• The twigs are rarely better than the trunk.
• Men do not limp while their legs are the same length.
• Better be alone than in bad company.
• The gift expects another gift in return.
• The revenge that is postponed is not forgotten.
• An offer of friendship to a friend’s foe is unbecoming an honorable man.
• If you get lost in an Icelandic forest, simply stand up and you will find your way.
• Our good life sure is there for us, unless we learned some bad conduct in our home as children.
• She who dances with the chimney sweeper will eventually end up black.
• It is better to suffer in the name of truth than being rewarded for lying.
• It is better to be a master in a cottage than servant in a castle.
• Children generally follow the example of their parents, but imitate their faults more surely than their virtues.
• You do not really know your friends from your enemies until the ice breaks.