Fields have eyes, and woods have ears.
Meaning: Watchful observers in open spaces and hidden listeners in concealed places mean privacy nowhere exists.
Origin: A medieval proverb recorded in English around 1225. Chaucer's The Knight's Tale calls it an old saying: "sooth is said, go sithen many years, that field hath eyen and the wood hath ears" — truly it has been said for many years that the field has eyes and the wood has ears. It warns that nowhere is truly private — the same idea as "walls have ears."
More proverbs about Wisdom
- He wants to have a finger in every pie. — Ambition to control multiple enterprises simultaneously often dilutes focus and prevents…
- He that would catch fish must not mind getting wet. — Success requires accepting the inevitable discomforts and risks inherent to your goal.
- The best fish are near the bottom. — Valuable things require effort and willingness to search deeper rather than accepting sur…
- I have other fish to fry. — Pursuing multiple important goals simultaneously means you lack time for additional commi…
- Make not fish of one, and flesh of another. — Treat all people with consistent fairness; don't favor some while dismissing others arbit…
- Fish are not to be caught by a birdcall. — Wrong tools waste effort; match your methods to your actual target.
From our tongue twisters
- Unique New York. — Three words that jam the 'y/n/k' sequence together — repeat it and it collapses into 'you…
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. — Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Ехал Грека через реку, видит Грека — в реке рак. (Yekhal Greka cherez reku, vidit Greka — v reke rak.) — A rolling 'r/k' drill where Greka, reku and rak keep trading the same two consonants.