Bet the jockey, not the horse
Meaning: Success depends on the skill and judgment of the person executing the plan, not the tools or resources available.
Origin: A venture-capital saying: back the entrepreneur rather than the idea. It was in print by 1984, and it echoes Georges Doriot, a founder of modern venture capital, who said he would take a first-rate team with a second-rate idea over the reverse.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Caesar's wife must be above suspicion — After the trial, Caesar divorced Pompeia, and when questioned said “my wife ought not eve…
- Can't live with them, can't live without them — Close relationships require tolerating incompatibility because isolation from others is u…
- Christmas comes but once a year — Rare opportunities demand we cherish them fully rather than postpone joy or neglect what…
- Cool heads must prevail — Rational thinking, not emotional impulse, resolves conflicts and prevents disaster.
- Dance with the one that brung ya — Loyalty to those who supported you initially matters more than chasing new opportunities.
- Even Homer nods — The English translation Homer nods has become standard following Pope (1709), but is due…
From our compliments & insults
- Casse-pieds — A massive bore or pain in the neck — someone who wears you down with their irritating way…
- Espèce de patate — You dim bulb — a potato being the very picture of inert, unthinking stodginess.
- Quel râleur / quelle râleuse — You never stop moaning — everything is a complaint, nothing is ever good enough.