The wearer best knows where the shoe pinches.
Meaning: Personal experience reveals truths about suffering that outsiders cannot understand or judge.
Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.
Translations
- French: Chacun sent le mieux où le soulier le blesse (literally: Every one knows best where the shoe pinches him)
Loading the full interactive collection…