The nurse's tongue is privileged to talk.
Meaning: Medical expertise grants authority to speak truth about patients' conditions without social restraint.
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 Communication
- Pity, promises, and blame, are always cheap and plentiful. — Sympathy, commitments, and accusations cost nothing, so people offer them freely without…
- Possession is nine points of the law, and they say there are but ten. — Physical control of something provides nearly complete legal claim, leaving little room f…
- He is poor indeed that cannot promise nothing. — Poverty of character stems from inability to offer even modest hope or commitment to othe…
- Be slow to promise, but quick to perform. — Caution in commitment prevents broken trust; swift action in fulfilling pledges builds re…
- Apt to promise, apt to forget. — Those quick to make commitments often lack the diligence to honor them.
- Promises are too much like pie-crusts, made to be broken. — Keeping promises requires discipline; convenience often trumps commitment, especially whe…
From our false friends
- Sensible — Actually means 'sensitive'. For sensible/level-headed, say raisonnable.
- Librairie — Actually means 'bookshop'. A library is une bibliothèque.
- Constipado — Actually means 'having a head cold'. Estoy constipado = I have a cold.