When it rains, it pours
Meaning: Troubles often come all at once.
Origin: The Morton Salt Company adopted "When it rains it pours" as its slogan in 1914, boasting that its salt still flowed freely in damp weather. The slogan turned an older proverb on its head: "It never rains but it pours," meaning that misfortunes arrive all at once, which the Scottish physician and writer John Arbuthnot had used in 1726 for the title of a piece called "It Cannot Rain But It Pours."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Un malheur ne vient jamais seul (literally: A misfortune never comes alone)
- Spanish: Las desgracias nunca vienen solas (literally: Misfortunes never come alone)
- Japanese: 泣きっ面に蜂 (Nakittsura ni hachi) (literally: A bee on a crying face)
- German: Ein Unglück kommt selten allein (literally: A misfortune seldom comes alone)
More proverbs about Challenge
- If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen — If you can't handle pressure, leave the situation.
- The road less traveled makes all the difference — Unconventional choices often lead to the most meaningful outcomes.
- He who hesitates is lost — Indecision leads to missed opportunities.
- A gem cannot be polished without friction — Excellence and greatness are only achieved through struggle and hardship.
- The darkest hour is just before the dawn — Situations often worsen right before they improve dramatically.
- It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness — Taking constructive action is more effective than complaining about a problem.
From our idioms
- avoir une peur bleue — Being terrified or extremely frightened of something.
- être du voyage — Being involved in an illicit or questionable scheme.
- faire le gendarme — Acting authoritarian or enforcing rules with excessive zeal.