proverb · Source-linked selection
At shrove-tide every one has need of his frying-pan.
At shrove-tide every one has need of his frying-pan.
In print by 1857 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
When many people need the same resource at the same time, its owner may need it too. A refusal to lend can reflect a real competing need rather than a lack of goodwill.
What the words are saying
The festival setting makes the demand simultaneous: everyone wants to use a frying-pan for the occasion. That matters because a resource which is usually easy to share can become scarce during a common deadline. Before treating another person’s equipment or time as available, ask what they need it for themselves. The saying can support planning, early requests and an alternative arrangement. It does not establish a historical origin for the proverb, and the collection’s seasonal image is not a reason to generalise about a culture.
Everyday example
Two neighbourhood groups plan food stalls on the same Saturday. One cannot lend its cooking equipment because it needs the same items, so the groups arrange separate supplies in advance.
When to use it
Use it when several people face simultaneous demand for ordinarily shared resources.
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What it does not mean
A competing need is worth checking rather than assuming. The saying does not mean that shared resources are never possible or that every refusal needs to be accepted without discussion.
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 (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). 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
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 1; French section, paragraph 16; source wording: A carême-prenant chacun a besoin de sa poële.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.