An adage is a oft-quoted saying that has gained a reputation for truth over a long period of time. An adage differs from a maxim, which is specifically a rule of conduct, and a motto, which is a guiding principle. An epigram is a witty saying, and an aphorism is characterized by conciseness, but some definitions of adage emphasize conciseness as well. Probably the closest synonym consistently used for adage is proverb, which also refers to a saying that is old and popular.

Examples of adages and what they mean:

• Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
This adage encourages taking a risk in pursuit of a goal.

• Good things come in small packages.
This adage urges us not to dismiss something that’s diminutive, as despite its size, it may prove valuable.

In Macbeth I, vii, Shakespeare has Lady Macbeth refer to a contemporary adage, when she says,

Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'
Like the poor cat i' the adage?

This is reportedly a reference to the Proverbs (1566) of John Heywood — a fellow playwright — which included the following adage that Lady Macbeth thought suited to her husband:

• "The cat would eate fishe, but would not wet her feete”
This adage suggests that it is a foolish stance to wish for something but be unwilling to go to some inconvenience to attain our goal.

This source is actually a compendium that contains many of the standard adages that most Americans are familiar with, including the following, which are couched in the familiar language that we know them in, though it is in many cases a bit different from Heywood’s turns of phrase:

• All’s well that ends well.
• Beggars can’t be choosers.
• Better late than never.
• Haste makes waste.
• Keep your nose to the grindstone.
• Look before you leap.
• Make hay while the sun shines.
• Neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring.
• The fat is in the fire.
• Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
• Strike while the iron is hot.
• Time and tide wait for no man.
• Two heads are better than one.

And so we find that we share with Shakespeare a source of everyday wisdom, an interesting fact to consider in a world that, on the surface, may seem to have little in common with the Elizabethan Age.