adage

"To tailor an old adage: if you try to annoy nobody you don't excite anybody," is how he puts it.

“But the old adage — iron sharpens iron. I do think we’re better for the adversity ... I’m excited for what’s to come.”

There's an old adage in American politics that says people "vote with their pocketbooks" - and turn against politicians if they appear to harm their finances.

A winning mentality attuned to the old adage of another managerial great, Brian Clough's "it only takes a second to score a goal".

The all-purpose adage offering optimism — and sometimes pessimism — to those confronting a crisis head-on is: “This too shall pass.”