A fool may give a wise man counsel.
Meaning: Even those lacking judgment can occasionally offer valuable advice through chance or simple observation.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Equivalents in French and Japanese
- French: Un fou avise bien un sage (literally: A wise man may learn of a fool)
- Japanese: 愚者も千慮に一得あり (Gusha mo senryo ni ittoku ari) (literally: Even a fool, in a thousand thoughts, has one gain)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Every man is either a fool or a physician after thirty years of age. — Experience either teaches you wisdom or your ignorance becomes permanent folly by middle…
- An old fool is the worst of fools. — Inexperience excuses foolishness; years of repeating mistakes demonstrate willful ignoran…
- Better it is to meet a bear bereaved of her whelps, than a fool in his folly. — Confronting a dangerous animal is safer than engaging with someone determined to persist…
- As the fool thinks, so the bell chinks. — A fool's actions produce predictable, hollow results—noise without substance or deeper me…
- Fools set stools for wise folk to stumble at. — Foolish people create obstacles that even intelligent ones may trip over through careless…
- A fool's bolt is soon shot. — Reckless people exhaust their resources or arguments hastily, leaving themselves defensel…
From our idioms
- Salz in die Wunde streuen — To deliberately make someone's pain or humiliation worse.
- die Suppe versalzen — To ruin a plan or situation through careless excess.
- vor den Kopf stoßen — To offend or affront someone.