proverb · Words worth keeping
Give neither advice nor salt until you are asked for it.
Give neither advice nor salt until you are asked for it.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Unrequested advice can be as unwelcome as altering someone’s food without asking. Check whether help is wanted before assuming you know what another person needs.
Example
A friend listening to a difficult work story asks whether the speaker wants suggestions or simply someone to hear what happened.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The comparison pairs advice with salt because both can be added with good intentions yet spoil the recipient’s experience when they are not wanted. The proverb encourages permission and attention to preference. A listener may want understanding rather than a solution, just as a diner may already find the dish suitable. Asking creates room for the other person to say what would help. The wording is deliberately strict, but ordinary life includes occasions when a timely warning is appropriate. Its useful focus is respectful support rather than a rule against speaking up about an immediate problem.
When to use it
Use it when offering advice about a decision that belongs to someone else.
Keep in mind
An urgent warning or an agreed professional responsibility may call for speaking before a request.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English