ProverbWisdom
Latin origin
Latin originA nail is driven out by another nail
Meaning: New habits, relationships, or ideas can effectively replace and eliminate old ones.
Origin: Cicero cites the idea in his Tusculan Disputations, of driving out an old love with a new one as one nail drives out another. Erasmus collected clavum clavo pellere in his Adagia.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian
French: Un clou chasse l'autre (literally: One nail drives out another)
Spanish: Un clavo saca otro clavo (literally: One nail pulls out another nail)
Italian: Chiodo scaccia chiodo (literally: Nail drives out nail)
Russian: Клин клином вышибают (Klin klinom vyshibayut) (literally: A wedge is knocked out with a wedge)
Explore another collection: Idioms
Colorful expressions from dozens of languages, with their word-for-word translations.
- Chutar o balde To stop caring and let everything go — unlike the English, nobody dies.
- Enfiar o pé na jaca To overdo it wildly, especially with food or drink.
- Iets voor een appel en een ei kopen To get something for next to nothing.
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