“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Source: Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack (1735)
Traditional United States Wisdom
Traditional United States Wisdom
Folk & Oral Tradition
Who is Traditional United States Wisdom?
Traditional United States Wisdom gathers the proverbs and sayings that have circulated in American English across generations. Many carry no single named author; they are the shared inheritance of farmers, settlers, tradespeople, preachers, and everyday families who compressed practical experience into a few memorable words. American proverbial wisdom draws on frontier self-reliance, thrift, hard work, plain speech, and a pragmatic, results-first outlook, and it is often blunt, humorous, and grounded in common sense. Some of the most quoted lines were popularized in print, above all in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, which itself borrowed and polished older European sayings, while others rose from rural, farming, and mechanical life or from twentieth-century popular speech. Because these sayings live in everyday conversation rather than in one fixed source, wording varies between regions and retellings. This platform records the widely recognized forms and, in keeping with its accuracy rule, presents author-less sayings as traditional rather than attributing them to any one person.
Sources: Wolfgang Mieder, A Dictionary of American Proverbs (Oxford University Press, 1992) · Traditional American oral tradition, public-domain folk wisdom
Quotes by Traditional United States Wisdom
“A penny saved is a penny earned.”
A penny saved is a penny earned.
Source: Popularly attributed to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack; traditional American thrift proverb
“God helps those who help themselves.”
God helps those who help themselves.
Source: Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack (1736); older proverbial roots
Sponsored
ZakGT — the world's books & quotes, by country
Real words. Real people. One global standard.
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Source: Traditional American proverb, oral tradition (attributed in popular form to Josh Billings, 19th c.)
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Source: Traditional American saying, 20th-century oral tradition
“The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.”
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Source: Traditional American proverb, common in U.S. oral tradition (older European roots)
Sponsored
ZakGT — the world's books & quotes, by country
Real words. Real people. One global standard.
“Don't count your chickens before they hatch.”
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
Source: Traditional proverb widely used in American English, oral tradition
“If it ain't broke, don't fix it.”
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Source: Traditional American proverb, popularized 20th c. (attributed to Bert Lance, 1977)
“Actions speak louder than words.”
Actions speak louder than words.
Source: Traditional English-language proverb in common American usage (documented from the 17th century)
Sponsored
ZakGT — the world's books & quotes, by country
Real words. Real people. One global standard.
“There's no such thing as a free lunch.”
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Source: American proverbial saying popularized 20th c.; associated with economist Milton Friedman (1975)