A dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

BAD things come in threes
Bad things may be specified as accidents, deaths, or other mishaps; cf. MISFORTUNES never come singly. This is a well-attested folk superstition on both sides of the Atlantic: 1891 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. XII. 489 One of my servants having accidentally broken a glass shade, asked for two other articles of little value, a wine bottle and jam crock, that she might break them, and so prevent the two other accidents. .. which would otherwise follow. Cf. THIRD time lucky.

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  1997 D. HANSEN Sole Survivor xvi. 82 He was a superstitious man and believed that bad joss always struck in threes. 2002 Times 20 Mar. 22 They say bad things come in threes. I don’t know who the they are that say this, mind, or how they found out that that was how bad things came,.. but.. last weekend, they were spot on. ■ misfortune; superstition
  

There is no such thing as BAD weather, only the wrong clothes

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  1980 Washington Post 15 Feb. D1 ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes,’ said Peterson. ‘You want to wear the least you can, and still not get frost-bitten.’ 1992 Daily Telegraph 23 Sept. 13 As someone once said, there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. 2006 Times 4 Nov 23 Autumn bares its fangs at last. Well, no such thing as bad weather: only bad clothing. ■ weather
  

A BAD workman blames his tools
Cf. late 13th-cent. Fr. mauvёs ovriers ne trovera ja bon hostill, a bad workman will never find a good tool.

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  1611 R. COTGRAVE Diet. French & English s.v. Outil, A bungler cannot find (or fit himselfe with) good tooles. 1640 G. HERBERT Outlandish Proverbs no. 67 Never had ill workeman good tooles. 1859 S. SMILES Self-Help iv. It is proverbial that the bad workman never yet had a good tool. 1940 J. G. COZZENS Ask Me Tomorrow vii. I’ve read somewhere that a poor workman quarrels with his tools. 1979 A. FOX Threat Signal Red XV. Damn! Dropped the screwdriver... Bad workmen blame their tools. 2001 Washington Times 19 Aug. B8 ‘Virtuous War’ starts off with a bad idea, proceeds to a pair of disasters, then gets worse. As for the fundamental reason for its failure—for now let’s just say, it’s a poor workman who blames his lousy tools. "efficiency and inefficiency; work
  

bad see also give a DOG a bad name and hang him; FIRE is a good servant but a bad master; a GOOD horse cannot be of a bad colour; HARD cases make bad law; HOPE is a good breakfast but a bad supper; NOTHING so bad but it might have been worse; THREE removals are as bad as a fire.