1. Drinking contests with humans are unbearable. They drink, they collapse, and we have to drag them back to their homes. The next day they never remember losing.
2. Pride and Anger are good for the soul
3. We can't bring a troll to the fire, but we can bring the fire to the troll
4. Never turn down an ale, who knows if it may be your last
5. We do not fornicate wildly like the humans and hares. Thus, our children are born ever so rarely. But when a dwarf *is* born, the very mountains shudder and the skies spit lightning! (Excerpt taken from the Ironbook, which speaks of what it means to be a dwarf. All dwarves can recite the passages verbatim from an early age.)
6. Ten seconds more...(and I will smash ye into nothingness!) A popular quote attributed to a legendary dwarven warrior. Now used euphemistically, 'ten seconds more' implying, I'm losing my patience, and you are about to feel my wrath. Good tip to back off, if you ever hear a dwarf say that to you in the tavern one night.
7. A pebble will stay dry inside, no matter how long it is submerged in a pool of water. (perservere)
8. Her beard is winking at me
9. Leave iron to rest before you hammer it
10. The smallest pebble was once the biggest stone, the biggest stone was once bigger.
11. Guard your life, guard your gold, guard your beard. In that order. (a popular saying among clan-less, traveling dwarves)
12. You are softer than sandstone and drier than talc (an obviously disparaging remark)
13. Wherever there are elves, there are lies
14. 'A hundred able dwarves...' As in, give me a hundred able dwarves and I could conquer the empire, or, give me a hundred able dwarves and I would build a city upon this mound in a fortnight! And so on. Used to denote the solid reliability and can-do attitude of each and every dwarf.
15. Cave-toads speak little, but when they do, listen.
16. Never answer a question when you're dreaming (implying superstitious fear of witchcraft)
17. 'We still hone the axe' (the full expression being, 'We still hone the axe which slew your kin. Tis' still sharp and ever-ready') A warning the dwarves will use-we still hone the axe-to denote a second or third attack on goblins or orcs who didn't learn their lessons the first time the dwarves attacked.
18. Schist! (a poor, flaky mineral-the equivalent of saying S**t!)
19. The Humans have a saying. The nail that sticks out gets hammered. We have a saying too. Shoddy work! Not a single nail should be sticking out.
20. I swear by my forge (obviously a serious oath)
21. You can kill a dwarf, but you can never vanquish one
22. Nothing a hammer can't solve
23. It is easy to fool a goblin, but even easier to kill one. (Don't bother with complex solutions, when simple ones will do)
24. The best place to hide something precious is in your beard. (Because no one will think to look in the obvious place)
25. Evil breeds in the guts of the lazy
26. Rest your shields, lean on stones, listen and always remember, long are the arms and legs of men, yet still longer, the Dwarven members! (a battlefield limerick meant to relieve stressed-out dwarves, usually exclaimed by leaders and commanders whenever the outlook is otherwise grim)
27. Touching is believing (as opposed to seeing)
28. The stones will sing if you let them (do be quiet)
29. Marriage is like an anvil. It is always there. It is solid. It is quiet. Like a husband. (Dwarven matrons have been overheard telling their daughters)
30. Dwarven women are like axes. As dangerous from the back as from the front
31. The first prisoners always killed are the cowards. Only then, the traitors. (being cowardly is very, very bad)
32. The hungriest troll will eat (implying that the more desperate and motivated enemies can sometimes prevail)
33. A spear is not a dwarven weapon, but it will kill all the same (in times of need, improvise)
34. A pebble will roll, but so will a boulder (don't underestimate the power of elbow-grease)
35. Axes and hammers have slain many more, than swords and spears have slain. (a dig at 'other races'--humans mainly-- and a testament to the ideal dwarven weapons)
36. The more goblins there are, the easier they are to kill. (famous quote attributed to King Gruen Steelbutter. Supposedly he uttered these words, seconds before collapsing an entire cavern system upon a hapless 'goblin city' of thousands.)
37. He barely has a beard, what can he know?Â
38. Dragons never bother the Dwarves. They just want to compare hoards. (the dwarves are not resentful of the wealthy)
39. One meal a day, but make that one a feast (Dwarves tend to eat rarely, but do possess a gluttonous streak, and will often consume the equivalent of three meals in one sitting.)
40. Have you ever seen a worm fidget? (often spoken between dwarves at those rare times when they attend human or elven events, where dancing is involved.)