A woman's work is never at an end.
Meaning: Domestic labor multiplies infinitely, offering no natural stopping point or completion unlike tasks with defined endpoints.
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.
More proverbs about Perseverance
- They that will not work in heat, must hunger in frost. — Refusing effort during favorable conditions guarantees hardship when circumstances turn d…
- The world was never so dull but if one won't another will. — Opportunity always finds a willing participant if the first person refuses it.
- This world is nothing except it tend to the next. — Earthly pursuits lack purpose unless they cultivate spiritual growth and eternal salvatio…
- There needs a long time to know the world's pulse. — Understanding society's true nature requires patient, sustained observation rather than h…
- When things get to the worst, they'll mend. — Despair blinds us to recovery; suffering naturally exhausts itself and reverses.
- Help yourself and your friends will like you. — Self-reliance builds respect; those who solve their own problems attract genuine companio…
From our idioms
- whip someone or something into shape — To mold or assemble something into its proper shape quickly.
- white-collar worker — An office worker.
- white lie — A minor, polite, or harmless lie.