ProverbWisdom
Latin origin
Latin originA guilty conscience needs no accuser.
Meaning: Wrongdoing torments the mind so intensely that external judgment becomes unnecessary for self-condemnation.
Example: “Nobody mentioned the missing cake, but he kept apologizing; a guilty conscience needs no accuser.”
Origin: The Roman orator Quintilian quoted the saying that conscience is as good as a thousand witnesses. The English proverb means that the guilty betray themselves without anyone needing to accuse them.
Equivalents in Arabic
Arabic: اللي على راسه بطحة بيحسس عليها (illi ʿala rasu baṭḥa byiḥassis ʿalayha) (literally: He who has a bump on his head keeps touching it)
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Zehn zahme Ziegen ziehen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo. A sustained 'z' / 'ts' drill — every word starts with the same affricate.
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