The topmost branch is not the safest perch.
Meaning: Highest positions attract the most danger and instability, making humble placement more secure.
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
- The persuasion of the fortunate sways the doubtful. — Fortune's favor lends credibility to arguments, making people trust the successful regard…
- You can't make a horn of a pig's tail. — Inherent nature cannot be transformed through effort; a pig's tail will never possess a h…
- A pin a day is a groat a year. — Small daily expenses accumulate into significant yearly costs without conscious budgeting…
- The pitcher does not go so often to the water, but it comes home broken at last. — Repeated exposure to risk eventually results in failure, no matter how fortunate previous…
- Sit in your place, and none can make you rise. — Stability and dignity come from accepting your own position rather than desperately seeki…
- A place for everything, and everything in its place. — Organized systems prevent chaos; knowing where things belong eliminates wasted time searc…
From our idioms
- put something on ice — To put something (an excess of some item) in reserve for later use.
- on the rocks — Unstable; likely to collapse. When referring to alcoholic beverages, it means with ice cu…
- skate on thin ice — In an unsafe or risky position.