A bad workman always blames his tools
Meaning: Incompetent people blame external factors for their failures instead of taking responsibility.
Origin: The idea was already proverbial in medieval French: a late 13th-century saying runs mauvés ouvriers ne trouvera ja bon outil, a bad workman will never find a good tool. English passed through several versions before settling on the modern wording. The point is that the fault usually lies in the hand, not the hammer.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Les mauvais ouvriers ont toujours de mauvais outils (literally: Bad workers always have bad tools)
- Spanish: Un mal trabajador siempre culpa a sus herramientas (literally: A bad worker always blames his tools)
- Japanese: 下手な職人は道具のせいにする (Heta na shokunin wa dōgu no sei ni suru) (literally: A poor craftsman blames his tools)
- German: Wenn der Reiter nichts taugt, ist das Pferd schuld (literally: When the rider is no good, the horse gets the blame)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow — Happiness multiplies and burdens lighten when shared with others.
- A hungry stomach has no ears — People cannot focus on anything else when their most basic needs are unmet.
- The fish sees the bait but not the hook — People are often tempted by apparent benefits while ignoring the hidden dangers.
- What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over — We only suffer from what we know about; ignorance can sometimes bring a measure of peace.
- We are what we repeatedly do — Character and identity are shaped not by occasional acts but by consistent daily habits.
- Rain does not fall on one roof alone — Hardship and misfortune are universal; no single person suffers alone.
From our untranslatable words
- Yurodivy — One who plays the fool deliberately as a religious act, and is therefore licensed to spea…
- Khalyava — Something good got for free and without effort — and, strictly, something you were never…
- Beloruchka — Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.