Πλέον ______ παντός.
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Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.Ἔργου ______ οἱ λόγοι.
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Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.Ταντάλειοι ______.
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Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι.______ πόκους ζητεῖς.
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Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.Πυθίων ______ ἧκες.
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Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.
The half is greater than the whole.
The Greek saying was used to refer to someone who would risk losing what they have in order to gain something more; compare the English saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." The adjective πλέον is comparative, so it takes a genitive complement: παντός. From the root in Greek ἥμισυ we get the hemi- words in English like hemisphere.
Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.
Words (are) the shadow of the deed.
You can see the Greek root εργ- in English words like energy and ergonomic. Meanwhile, the word σκιὰ is lurking in the English word "squirrel," as the squirrel was called σκίουρος in Greek: σκιά-οὐρά, shadow-tail, thanks to the way its big busy tail is like an umbrella! (Meanwhile, "umbrella" is from the Latin word for shadow: umbra.)
Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι.
Tantalean punishments.
This proverbial phrase refers to the punishments that Tantalus suffered for the various crimes he committed against the gods, including an attempt to feed them the flesh of his son, Pelops. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Tantalus' Savage Banquet. Tantalus was then punished in the underworld by seeing fruit that he could never eat and water that he could never drink, which is the origin of the English word "tantalize."
Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.
You're looking for wool from a donkey.
This is another proverbial fool's errand: you get wool from a sheep, not from a donkey. Compare the proverbial English "hen's teeth." The saying appears in Aristophanes' The Frogs, where Charon, the boatman, asks: τίς εἰς τοῦ Λήθης πεδίον, τίς εἰς ὄνου πόκας; "Who's for the plain of Lethe? Who's for the donkey's wool?" In this context, the "donkey's wool" is not just a fool's errand, but instead is an ultimate "nowhere," the annihilation that awaits all Charon's passengers.
Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.
You came late for the Pythian Games.
This is a proverbial saying for being late to an event. The Pythian Games were held every four years, as were the other Panhellenic Games, including the Olympics. So, if you showed up late for the Pythian Games, you would have four years to wait! You can read more at Wikipedia: Pythian Games. Erasmus provides some other similar expressions: Κατόπιν τῆς ἑορτῆς, "late to the party," and Παναθηναίων κατόπιν, "late for the Panathenaea festival."
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Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.Ἔργου ______ οἱ λόγοι.
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Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.Ταντάλειοι ______.
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Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι.______ πόκους ζητεῖς.
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Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.Πυθίων ______ ἧκες.
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Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.
And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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