The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (106 page)
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The COWL does not make the monk
Do not judge men by what they appear to be. Cf. medieval L.
cucullus non facit monachum
, the cowl does not make the monk;
a
1250
Ancrene Wisse
(1962) 10 Her in is religiun, nawt i the wide hod ne i the blake cape.
1387
Testament of Love
in Chaucer
Complete Works
(1897) II. xi.
For habit maketh no monk; ne weringe of gilte spurres maketh no knight.
1588
Pandosto
IV. 289
Trueth quoth Fawnia, but all that weare Cooles (cowls) are not Monkes.
1613
Henry VIII
III.i. 23
They should be good men, their affairs as righteous; But all hoods make not monks.
1820
Abbot
II. xi.
‘Call me not doctor .. since I have laid aside my furred gown and bonnet.’.. ‘O, sir .. the cowl makes not the monk.’
1891
Music in London
(1932) I. 217
Such impostures are sure of support from the sort of people .. who think that it is the cowl that makes the monk.
appearance, deceptive
cucullus non facit monachum
, the cowl does not make the monk;
a
1250
Ancrene Wisse
(1962) 10 Her in is religiun, nawt i the wide hod ne i the blake cape.
1387Testament of Love
in Chaucer
Complete Works
(1897) II. xi.
For habit maketh no monk; ne weringe of gilte spurres maketh no knight.
1588
Pandosto
IV. 289
Trueth quoth Fawnia, but all that weare Cooles (cowls) are not Monkes.
1613
Henry VIII
III.i. 23
They should be good men, their affairs as righteous; But all hoods make not monks.
1820
Abbot
II. xi.
‘Call me not doctor .. since I have laid aside my furred gown and bonnet.’.. ‘O, sir .. the cowl makes not the monk.’
1891
Music in London
(1932) I. 217
Such impostures are sure of support from the sort of people .. who think that it is the cowl that makes the monk.
appearance, deceptive
A CREAKING door hangs longest
Usually said as a comfort to the infirm, though sometimes implying that the weak or faulty is a nuisance the longest.
Gate
sometimes replaces
door
.
1776
John Buncle, Junior
I. vi.
They say a creaking gate goes the longest upon its hinges; that's my comfort.
1888
Madame Midas
II. ii.
It is said that ‘creaking doors hang the longest’. Mrs. Pulchop .. was an excellent illustration of the truth of this saying.
1944
Towards Zero
62
But it seems I am one of these creaking gates—these perpetual invalids who never die.
1970
Bomber
vi.
The Flight Engineer said, ‘A creaking door hangs longest.’ Digby christened her [an aeroplane] ‘Creaking Door.’
1985
Paradise Postponed
viii.
I'll probably last like this another thirty years. I'll be a creaking gate .. and they goes on swinging forever.
mortality
;
old age
Gate
sometimes replaces
door
.
1776John Buncle, Junior
I. vi.
They say a creaking gate goes the longest upon its hinges; that's my comfort.
1888
Madame Midas
II. ii.
It is said that ‘creaking doors hang the longest’. Mrs. Pulchop .. was an excellent illustration of the truth of this saying.
1944
Towards Zero
62
But it seems I am one of these creaking gates—these perpetual invalids who never die.
1970
Bomber
vi.
The Flight Engineer said, ‘A creaking door hangs longest.’ Digby christened her [an aeroplane] ‘Creaking Door.’
1985
Paradise Postponed
viii.
I'll probably last like this another thirty years. I'll be a creaking gate .. and they goes on swinging forever.
mortality;
old age
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