
ProverbWisdom
English originc. 1225
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."
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