proverb · Source-linked selection
A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody.
A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody.
In print by 1893 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Trying to please everyone can make personal loyalty seem shallow or unreliable. The saying questions indiscriminate promises of friendship, without establishing that a welcoming person cannot maintain sincere relationships with many others.
What the words are saying
Everybody and nobody exaggerate the contrast between broad friendliness and dependable friendship. The sentence suggests that someone who offers the same allegiance to every side may struggle to provide support when interests conflict. Its useful question is whether friendly words are backed by reliable conduct. Being sociable or treating strangers kindly does not make a person disloyal. Nor must a friend endorse every opinion or quarrel. The proverb works best as a caution about promising incompatible loyalties, rather than a demand for exclusiveness or a reason to distrust anyone with a wide circle of acquaintances.
Everyday example
A member promises two competing groups unconditional support and later cannot honour both commitments.
When to use it
Use it to examine the reliability of sweeping promises of loyalty.
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What it does not mean
Kindness to many people is compatible with sincere friendship.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional proverb
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1893 AD · industrial
In print by 1893: recorded in Dictionary of Quotations (1893). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Pr. · page_006
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.