# proverb (1-proverb.org)

A proverb is a short, well-known saying that gives advice or expresses a truth about life. People share proverbs to sum up wisdom in a memorable way, like 'A friend in need is a friend indeed.'

## What a model may hear
- ProVerif protocol verifier (security research and cryptography): Assume the user wants to model or verify a security protocol using the ProVerif tool
- PROVER9 automated theorem prover (automated reasoning and logic): Interpret the word as referring to the PROVER9 theorem-proving system or its commands
- Proverb (NLP dataset) (natural language processing and machine learning): Expect requests about the Proverb dataset used for commonsense reasoning benchmarks
- prover in formal verification (software verification and proof assistants): Treat the word as shorthand for any automated theorem prover or proof-generating component

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "Check this proverb for me"
  Means: Review this saying about life for accuracy or meaning
  May be taken as: Run the ProVerif tool on some unspecified protocol specification
  Say instead: "Explain the meaning of this proverb: [quote the saying]"
- Says: "Find proverbs about trust"
  Means: Collect folk sayings that discuss trust between people
  May be taken as: Search for papers or code related to trust models in ProVerif or PROVER9
  Say instead: "List traditional proverbs and sayings about trust"
- Says: "How do I write a good proverb?"
  Means: Get tips on crafting memorable, wise sayings
  May be taken as: Provide syntax or tactics for the ProVerif specification language
  Say instead: "What makes a saying memorable and wise, like a traditional proverb?"

## Tips
- Quote the proverb directly to signal you mean the folk saying, not a tool
- Use words like 'saying,' 'adage,' or 'folk wisdom' if the model keeps misinterpreting
- Ask for cultural origin or interpretation to steer toward literary meaning
- Mention 'traditional' or 'cultural' to distance from technical tools
- If you do mean the security tool, write 'ProVerif' with capital V and no space

## Often confused with
- ProVerif: cryptographic protocol verifier tool, capital V
- prover: general term for theorem-proving software, no cultural meaning
- PROVER9: specific automated theorem prover, numeral in name
- parable: a short story with a moral, longer and narrative
- maxim: a concise rule of conduct, more prescriptive
- epigram: a witty, often satirical short poem or saying