A watched pot never boils
Meaning: Time seems to pass slowly when you are waiting.
Origin: It is in print by 1848, in Elizabeth Gaskell's novel Mary Barton, already used as a familiar saying. It is often credited to Benjamin Franklin, but nothing he wrote contains it. The joke is on the watcher: the water heats at the same rate either way, but time drags for anyone staring at it.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and Japanese
- French: Un pot surveillé ne bout jamais (literally: A watched pot never boils)
- Spanish: Quien espera, desespera (literally: He who waits, despairs)
- Japanese: 待つ身は長い (Matsu mi wa nagai) (literally: Waiting feels long)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Beggars can't be choosers — When you need help, you accept what's offered.
- It takes a village to raise a child — Community support is essential for child development.
- One man's trash is another man's treasure — What one person discards, another may value.
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder — Being apart makes you appreciate someone more.
- There's no place like home — Home is where you feel most comfortable.
- You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink — You can offer help, but you can't force someone to accept it.
From our compliments & insults
- 懐が深い (futokoro ga fukai) — You're broad-minded, generous of spirit, and able to embrace the complexity of others wit…
- Você é um amor — You're a sweetheart — warm, caring, and impossible not to like.
- Você tem muita garra — You have fierce, relentless determination — you claw your way through any obstacle.