A dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

DEAD men tell no tales
Cf. 1560 T. BECON Works II. 97 He that hath his body loden with meat and drinke is no more mete to prai vnto god then a dead man is to tel a tale.

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  1664 J. WILSON Andronicus Comnenius I. iv. ‘Twere best To knock ‘um i’ th’ head. .. The dead can tell no tales. 1702 G. FARQUHAR Inconstant v. 76 Ay, ay, Dead Men tell no Tales. 1850 C. KINGSLEY Alton Locke I. iv. Where are the stories of those who have.. ended in desperation?.. Dead men tell no tales. 2001 S. KENDRICK Night Watch iv. 159 Dead men tell no tales. But their bodies sometimes do. ■ revenge; speech and silence
  

Blessed are the DEAD that the rain rains on
A similar belief is happy is the BRIDE that the sun shines on.

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  1607 Puritan I. i. If, Blessed bee the coarse [corpse] the raine raynes vpon, he had it, powring downe. 1787 F. GROSE Provincial Glossary (Superstitions) 61 It is.. esteemed a good sign if it rains whilst a corpse is burying:.. Happy is the corpse that the rain rains on. 1925 F. S. FITZGERALD Great Gatsby 210 I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower. Dimly I heard someone murmur, ‘Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on.’ ■ blessings; death
  

dead see also the only GOOD Indian is a dead Indian; it’s ILL waiting for dead men’s shoes; a LIVE dog is better than a dead lion; never SPEAK ill of the dead; STONE-dead hath no fellow; THREE may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
deadly see the FEMALE of the species is more deadly than the male.
There’s none so DEAF as those who will not hear
Similar to there’s none so BLIND as those who will not see. Cf. mid 14th-cent. Fr. il n’est si mavais sours que chuis ch’oe'r ne voeilt, there is no person so deaf as the one who does not wish to hear.

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