Curses are like chickens, they come home to roost.
Meaning: Malicious words and wishes eventually harm the person who spoke them, returning with consequences.
Origin: Chaucer's The Parson's Tale (c. 1390) already says that a wrongful curse returns to the one who made it, as a bird returns to its own nest. The chicken version was popularized by the poet Robert Southey, who used "Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost" as the motto of The Curse of Kehama (1810).
More proverbs about Wisdom
- I had not cut my wise teeth. — Lacking experience or maturity, one cannot yet recognize or act upon good judgment.
- Desperate cuts must have desperate cures. — Severe problems require bold, unconventional solutions, even if risky or painful.
- No longer pipe, no longer dance. — When the music stops, those dependent on it must cease their enjoyment and move forward.
- He dances well to whom fortune pipes. — Success comes easily to those blessed with favorable circumstances rather than personal e…
- Dainty dogs may have to eat dirty puddings. — Those unwilling to compromise their preferences may face deprivation when circumstances d…
- He that gropes in the dark finds that he would not. — Blind searching without guidance leads to unwanted discoveries rather than intended ones.
From our compliments & insults
- Bête comme ses pieds — Really not very bright.
- Avoir un poil dans la main — To be incurably lazy.
- Tête de linotte — A scatterbrain who can't hold a thought.