ProverbWisdom
Italian origin
Italian originOgni bel gioco dura poco
Meaning: Even pleasant things become tiresome if they go on too long, so know when to stop.
Literally: Every good game is short
Example: “Basta con gli scherzi al nuovo collega: ogni bel gioco dura poco.” — Enough pranks on the new colleague: a joke stops being funny if it goes on too long.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Portuguese
English: All good things must come to an end
French: Toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin (literally: All good things have an end)
Spanish: Todo lo bueno llega a su fin (literally: All good things come to their end)
Japanese: 盛者必衰 (Jōsha hissui) (literally: The prosperous must decline)
German: Alles hat ein Ende (literally: Everything has an end)
Portuguese: Não há bem que sempre dure nem mal que não acabe (literally: No good lasts forever, no bad never ends)
Origin: Said when a joke or a game has run long enough: part of the fun is that it is short. A cousin says the same about dancing, il ballo è bello quando è corto, the dance is lovely when it is short.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Trentatré trentini entrarono a Trento tutti e trentatré trotterellando. An unbroken stampede of 'tr' and 't'.
- Tigre contro tigre, tigre contro un'altra tigre. Pure 't/ig/re' drill — short and merciless; the double-g demands a crisp Italian stop.
- Apelle figlio di Apollo fece una palla di pelle di pollo e tutti i principi della città di Capua la palpeggiarono. A wall of 'p/ll/l/a' that seems to grow longer as you speak it faster.
Keep exploring