ProverbPerseveranceEnglish origin

Doing nothing is the hardest work.

Meaning: Idleness demands constant mental struggle against restlessness and guilt, making it paradoxically more exhausting than productive labor.

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.

Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words

Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.

  • Amae The comfortable feeling of depending on another's goodwill — leaning into someone's indul…
  • Weltschmerz The weariness and sadness you feel when the world as it is falls painfully short of the w…
  • Torschlusspanik The anxious fear that time is running out — that the gates of opportunity, youth, or life…

Browse all untranslatable words →

Keep exploring

Explore all proverbs →