The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (55 page)

1659
Proverbs
(Spanish) 4
The blind mans wife needs no painting.
1736
Poor Richard's Almanack
(June)
God helps them that help themselves. Why does the blind man's wife paint her self?
1892
Old Woman's Outlook in Hampshire Village
166
His [the schoolmaster's] copies too were remarkable. One was ‘A blind man's wife needs no paint.’ ‘Proverbs, sir, Proverbs,’ he answered, when asked where it came from.
appearance
;
wives and husbands

 
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see also
in the COUNTRY of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
;
a DEAF husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple
;
LOVE is blind
;
a NOD'S as good as a wink to a blind horse
;
NOTHING so bold as a blind mare
.

 
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see
Where IGNORANCE is bliss,' tis folly to be wise
.

 
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Frequently uses, as a resigned admission, to mean that it is hopeless to try extorting money, etc., from those who have none. Other unyielding or unlikely substances are sometimes substituted for
stone
, as in
1836
MARRYAT
Japhet
iv. There's no getting blood out of a turnip. An early variant was
c
1435
J. LYDGATE
Minor Poems
(EETS) 666 Harde to likke honey out of a marbil stoon, For ther is nouthir licour nor moisture.
1666
Italian Proverbs
161
There's no getting of bloud out of that wall.
1850
David Copperfield
xi.
Blood cannot be obtained from a stone, neither can anything on account be obtained .. from Mr. Micawber.
1925
False Scent
ix.
‘You'll never get it ..’ ‘He'll have to pay me when he loses!’ ‘You can't get blood out of a stone.’
1945
Lark Rise
xix.
They can't take nothing away from us, for you can't get blood from a stone.
1979
Daily Telegraph
9 Mar. 3
In a paradoxical variation of the adage that you cannot get blood from a stone, the .. Revenue Service wants to extract money from a Miami woman's rare and lucrative blood.
meanness
;
possibilty and impossibility

 
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