A smoking chimney, a shut door against the weather, and a saying short enough to remember on the walk home: that is where these proverbs were made.
For centuries, in Highland crofts and Lowland towns alike, hard lessons about money, friendship and hard weather were passed down as brief, memorable sayings.
The best Scottish Proverbs are thrifty with words and generous with sense: dry, practical, and warmed by a wit that never wastes a syllable.
In this collection you will find 59 proverbs in five sections, on life and wisdom, thrift and work, friendship and home, patience in hard times, and Scotland’s sharpest short sayings. So, let’s begin.
12 Scottish Proverbs on Life & Wisdom
Fools look to tomorrow; wise men use tonight.
Scottish Proverb
Were it not for hope, the heart would break.
Scottish Proverb
What cannot be cured must be endured.
Scottish Proverb
Better bend than break.
Scottish Proverb
Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.
Scottish Proverb
A misty morning may become a clear day.
Scottish Proverb
When one door sticks, another one opens.
Scottish Proverb
What may be done at any time will be done at no time.
Scottish Proverb
A begun turn is half ended.
Scottish Proverb
Learn young, learn fair; learn old, learn more.
Scottish Proverb
Confessed faults are half mended.
Scottish Proverb
Open confession is good for the soul.
Scottish Proverb
Also Read: 61 Irish Proverbs (Traditional Sayings on Life, Friendship & Luck)
12 Scottish Proverbs on Money, Thrift & Hard Work
Look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.
Scottish Proverb
Many a mickle makes a muckle.
Scottish Proverb
A fool and his money are soon parted.
Scottish Proverb
Willful waste makes woeful want.
Scottish Proverb
From saving comes having.
Scottish Proverb
A penny saved is a penny gained.
Scottish Proverb
Penny wise and pound foolish.
Scottish Proverb
A light purse makes a heavy heart.
Scottish Proverb
A pound of care will not pay an ounce of debt.
Scottish Proverb
Out of debt, out of danger.
Scottish Proverb
Get what you can and keep what you have; that’s the way to get rich.
Scottish Proverb
Better buy than borrow.
Scottish Proverb
Also Read: 55 Chinese Proverbs (Traditional Sayings on Life, Wisdom & Patience)
12 Scottish Proverbs on Friendship, Home & Family
Be slow in choosing a friend, but slower in changing him.
Scottish Proverb
The best mirror is a friend’s eye.
Scottish Proverb
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Scottish Proverb
A house without a dog, a cat, or a little child is a house without joy or laughter.
Scottish Proverb
False friends are worse than bitter enemies.
Scottish Proverb
A friend by thee is better than a brother far off.
Scottish Proverb
When friends meet, hearts warm.
Scottish Proverb
Better be alone than in bad company.
Scottish Proverb
Birds of a feather flock together.
Scottish Proverb
Blood is thicker than water.
Scottish Proverb
Charity begins at home.
Scottish Proverb
We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns.
Scottish Proverb
Also Read: 63 Japanese Proverbs (Traditional Sayings on Life, Wisdom & Patience)
11 Scottish Proverbs on Patience, Hope & Hard Times
They that will not be counselled cannot be helped.
Scottish Proverb
Listen to the wind upon the hill till the waters abate.
Scottish Proverb
There isn’t a flood which will not subside.
Scottish Proverb
Better wear out shoes than sheets.
Scottish Proverb
A shored tree stands long.
Scottish Proverb
Time and tide will tarry on no man.
Scottish Proverb
Never let your feet run faster than your shoes.
Scottish Proverb
If you don’t see the bottom, don’t wade.
Scottish Proverb
Enough’s as good as a feast.
Scottish Proverb
He goes long barefoot that waits for dead men’s shoes.
Scottish Proverb
A hungry man smells meat far.
Scottish Proverb
Also Read: 90 Native American Proverbs About Life, Wisdom & Nature
12 Short Scottish Proverbs & Witty Sayings
A close mouth catches no fleas.
Scottish Proverb
A good word is as soon said as an ill one.
Scottish Proverb
A man of words, but no deeds, is like a garden full of weeds.
Scottish Proverb
He that teaches himself has a fool for his master.
Scottish Proverb
A liar should have a good memory.
Scottish Proverb
You can’t make a silk purse of a pig’s ear.
Scottish Proverb
Never marry for money. You can borrow it cheaper.
Scottish Proverb
Twelve Highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion.
Scottish Proverb
A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind horse.
Scottish Proverb
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Scottish Proverb
A gloved cat was never a good hunter.
Scottish Proverb
What’s meant for you will not pass you by.
Scottish Proverb
Also Read: 34 Powerful Hawaiian Proverbs on Life, Family, Love, Death & Strength
Keep this page for a card, a speech, or a day when plain sense is exactly what you need. Choose one saying from it, use it well, and pass it on the way it reached you: spoken, remembered, and shared.
