ProverbCommunication
American origin19th c.
American origin19th c.The squeaky wheel gets the grease
Meaning: Those who complain the most get attention.
Origin: Usually credited to the American humorist Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), whose 19th-century poem "The Kicker" ends: "The wheel that squeaks the loudest / Is the one that gets the grease." The attribution is not certain, but the image is plain: a dry axle announces itself, and the one that complains gets the attention. Japanese gives the opposite advice — the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
Equivalents in Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean
Spanish: El que no llora, no mama (literally: He who doesn't cry, doesn't get fed)
Portuguese: Quem não chora não mama (literally: Whoever doesn't cry doesn't get suckled)
Korean: 우는 아이 젖 준다 (Uneun ai jeot junda) (literally: The crying child gets milk)
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