A dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

There is always a FIRST time
Also, there’s a first time for everything.
□1792 A. HAMILTON Papers (1961-) XII. 504 But there is always ‘a first time’. 1929 W. R. BURNETT Little Caesar III. vii.’I ain’t got nothing to spill. .. Did I ever do any spilling?’ ‘There’s a first time for everything.’ 1987 ‘M. HEBDEN’ Pel among Pueblos xvi. ‘He has no record.’ ‘Doesn’t mean a thing. There’s always a first time.’ 2001 R. JOHANSEN Beyond Belief iii. 48 ‘You don’t think I can do it?’ ‘I think you can try.’ ‘I’ve never failed yet.’ She shrugged. ‘There’s a first time for everything.’ "beginnings and endings
FIRST up, best dressed
North of England saying when clothing has to be shared between children in large and impoverished families. Oral evidence from the Isle of Man indicates that it was certainly current at least as early as the first half of the 20th cent.
□1969 Times 23 Sept. 9 ‘It’s like first up, best dressed in this family’ Mr. F told me. A crane slinger, he was injured at work in February 1969.. Since then he and his wife and eight children have been living on approximately £25 a week. 1988 Sydney Morning Herald (good living section) 6 Dec. 7 The airlines decided to change this to what is known as ‘wholesale free-sale’, which basically means first up, best dressed. 2007 Times Educational Supplement 8 June 32 The inability of many parents to send their children to school in clothes that have seen the inside of a washing machine in the past six months (teachers in more challenging schools will be familiar with the concept of ‘first up, best dressed’) can lead to dilemmas. "punctuality
first see also every DOG is allowed one bite; whom the GODS would destroy, they first make mad; SELF-preservation is the first law of nature; if at first you don’t SUCCEED, try, try, try again; THINK first and speak afterwards; he that will THRIVE must first ask his wife; TRUTH is the first casualty of war.