Better that the feet slip than the tongue.
Meaning: A physical misstep heals quickly, but careless words cause lasting damage to relationships and reputation.
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.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and Japanese
- French: Mieux vaut glisser du pied que de la langue (literally: Better a slip of the foot than of the tongue)
- Spanish: Por la boca muere el pez (literally: The fish dies by its mouth)
- Japanese: 口は災いの元 (Kuchi wa wazawai no moto) (literally: The mouth is the source of calamity)
More proverbs about Communication
- Spare to speak and spare to spend. — Restraint in both words and money preserves resources and prevents regrettable waste.
- There is a time to speak as well as to be silent. — Knowing when to withhold words proves as valuable as knowing when to voice them.
- Many speak much that cannot speak well. — Verbose people often lack the clarity and wisdom that characterizes truly eloquent speech.
- Speak fair and think what you will. — Private thoughts remain free even when public words must be diplomatic and measured.
- Speech is the picture of the mind. — Words reveal a person's inner thoughts, beliefs, and character more honestly than any del…
- One story is good until another's told. — The first account you hear seems credible until you consider alternative perspectives and…
From our idioms
- give someone the sack — To be fired from one's job.
- give someone the third degree — To be questioned in great detail.
- get something down pat — To do something repeatedly until one knows how to do it without a mistake; to perfect an…