See the hottest books publishing this Summer

Why do we say "Make hay while the sun shines"?

Well-Known Expressions

Make hay while the sun shines

Meaning:

Take full advantage of an opportunity before it passes

Background:

This expression, which alludes to the drying of grass for animal feed, is first recorded in English in Alexander Barclay's Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools, originally written by the distinguished humanist Sebastian Brant in 1494 and published in German as Narrenschiff, satirizes examples of contemporary folly.  It was one of the most successful published works of its age and is often cited as one of the first "international bestsellers". Alexander Barclay adapted it into English as The Ship of Folys of the Worlde in 1509.  The work's comic woodcuts, commonly attributed to Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg, are a key part of its popularity.  Sample illustrations can be seen at the University of Glasgow's website. The full text and illustrations are available at Project Gutenberg.

More expressions and their source

Challenge yourself with BookBrowse Wordplays

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Erased
    by Anna Malaika Tubbs

    In Erased, Anna Malaika Tubbs recovers all that American patriarchy has tried to destroy.

  • Book Jacket

    The Original Daughter
    by Jemimah Wei

    A dazzling debut by Jemimah Wei about ambition, sisterhood, and family bonds in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.

  • Book Jacket

    Songs of Summer
    by Jane L. Rosen

    A young woman crashes a Fire Island wedding to find her birth mother—and gets more than she bargained for.

  • Book Jacket

    Awake in the Floating City
    by Susanna Kwan

    A debut novel about an artist and a 130-year-old woman bound by love and memory in a future, flooded San Francisco.

Who Said...

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T the V B the S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.