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

Eel

A gray eel is better than a variegated serpent.German.

All that breed in the mud are not eels.

An eel escapes from a good fisherman.

An eel held by the tail is not yet caught.

As nimble as an eel in a sand bag.

As slippery as an eel.

Cover up the pot, there’s an eel in it.Dutch.

He is as much out of his element as an eel in a sand bag.

Holding an eel too fast is the way to let it escape.

Mud chokes no eels.

The eel that will eat lettuce must come to land.German.

There is an eel under the rock: i.e., if you wish to find you must search.French.

There is as much hold of his words as of a wet eel by the tail.

To begin skinning the eel at the tail.French.

To squeeze an eel too hard is the way to lose it.French.

You cannot hide an eel in a sack.