You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
Meaning: Loyalty to opposing sides simultaneously is impossible; you must choose which faction to serve.
Origin: You cannot support both sides at once. John Heywood's 1546 collection has "to hold with the hare and run with the hound" — the hare "holds" by pressing itself flat to escape the hounds chasing it, and nobody can be on both sides of that chase.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- You don't dip your pen in company ink — Romantic entanglements with colleagues create workplace conflicts and jeopardize professi…
- You don't miss the water till the well runs dry — We overlook what sustains us until deprivation forces us to recognize its true value.
- Absence cools moderate passions, and inflames violent ones. — Distance fades mild affections but makes intense ones burn all the hotter.
- The absent are always at fault. — Those not present to defend themselves get the blame.
- Give neither advice nor salt until you are asked for it. — Offer advice only when it's asked for; unsolicited counsel is rarely welcome.
- What every one asks, what every one gives, but what very few take--advice. — Everyone seeks and gives advice, yet almost no one actually follows it.
From our compliments & insults
- Sei in gamba — You're sharp, capable, and on the ball.
- Sei un tesoro — You're a darling — precious to have around.
- Du bist ein Schatz — You're a sweetheart.