ProverbWisdomEnglish origin

The brain that sows not corn, plants thistles.

Meaning: Idleness breeds destructive habits; a mind unused for constructive purpose defaults to harmful preoccupations.

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.

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