Robert Christy, comp. Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages. 1887.

Bad

A bad bush is better than the open field.

A bad knife cuts one’s fingers instead of the stick.Portuguese.

A bad padlock invites a picklock.

A bad reaper never gets a good sickle.Gaelic.

A bad shift is better than no shift.

A bad thing never dies.

A bad tree does not yield good apples.Danish.

A bad vessel breaks not easily.Hungarian.

A bad vessel is seldom broken.Latin.

All bad alike. Literal, putrid flesh is all of a flavor.Chinese.

Bad is never good until worse happens.Danish.

Bad is the sack that will not bear patching.Italian.

Bad is the wool that cannot be dyed.Italian.

Bad mind bad heart.Terence.

He who has a bad name is half hanged.Italian.

Nothing so bad as not to be good for something.

Nothing so bad but it finds its master.Dutch.

There is no man so bad but has a secret respect for the good.

There is nothing so bad but may be of some use.German.

Those who are once found to be bad are presumed to be so forever.Latin.

What is bad for one is good for another.French.

Where bad’s the best naught must be the choice.

You may keep yourself safe from fire but not from a bad man.Portuguese.

Bad men leave their mark wherever they go.Chinese.

Who is bad to his own is bad to himself.Italian.