fine words butter no parsnips

fine words butter no parsnips

proverb Promises do not ensure that something will happen. A: "Ugh, Tim swore he'd be here at 8 to help me pack." B: "Well, fine words butter no parsnips, you know."
See also: butter, fine, no, word
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Fine words butter no parsnips.

Prov. Just because someone promises something does not guarantee that he or she will do it. (Can be used as a rebuke, implying that the person you are addressing is promising something he or she will not do, as in the second example.) Sue: Tom promised he would buy me any house I want if I marry him! Jane: Fine words butter no parsnips. Fred: Sweetheart, I'm very sorry I've been so short-tempered. I'll never, never be like that anymore. Ellen: Fine words butter no parsnips.
See also: butter, fine, no, word
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • back at it
  • back at it (again)
  • be on (one's) back
  • be on somebody's back
  • be on someone's back
  • April showers bring May flowers
  • back onto
  • back onto (something)
  • a thing
  • a whole thing
References in classic literature
Who was the blundering idiot who said that "fine words butter no parsnips"?
Vanity Fair
Fine words butter no parsnips. The police service will carry on using the targets and priorities handed down from the Home Depar tment Once again it shows that the posts of PCC and their deputies aren''t really needed.
THE BEST OF THE WEB: WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ONLINE
STRAIGHT TO THE poin* FINE words butter no parsnips. Will someone tell me what an integrated transport hub is ("'We can be the engine room of the Welsh economy'", Echo, March 30)?
STRAIGHT TO THE point [...]
One thing's certain though, "fine words butter no parsnips", so I'm game to donate my next week's pension to help start a repayment tarpaulin muster.
Gone south; emails & letters
'Fine words butter no parsnips, and we will want to see early action in a number of key areas.'
Farmers now want action as well as fine words