There are more threatened than struck.
Meaning: More people fear danger than actually experience it; anxiety often exceeds real harm.
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.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Il y a plus de peur que de mal (literally: There is more fear than harm)
- Spanish: Mas son los amenazados que los heridos (literally: There are more threatened than hurt)
- Japanese: 案ずるより産むが易し (Anzuru yori umu ga yasushi) (literally: Giving birth is easier than worrying about it)
- German: Es wird nicht so heiß gegessen, wie es gekocht wird (literally: Things are not eaten as hot as they are cooked)
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