He would starve in a cook-shop.
Meaning: Incompetence in one's own field ensures failure, even surrounded by abundance and opportunity.
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.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Step by step the ladder is climbed. — Incremental progress through consistent effort achieves what rushing toward ambitious goa…
- Whoso lacketh a stock, his gain's not worth a chip. — Without capital to reinvest profits, modest earnings disappear into daily expenses rather…
- The full stomach loatheth the honeycomb, but to the hungry every bitter thing is sweet. — Hunger transforms perception; satisfied people reject what starving people gratefully acc…
- Between two stools he comes to the ground. — Trying to sit on two stools simultaneously leaves you falling between them, unsupported a…
- He must stoop that hath a low door. — Adapting yourself to constraints, however humble, requires humility and flexibility rathe…
- Weight and measure take away strife. — Precise accounting and fair standards prevent disputes over fairness in transactions.
From our untranslatable words
- Toska — A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
- Flâner — To wander a city slowly and aimlessly, savouring it with no destination in mind — the art…