proverb · Legacy record
Gold that is lent goes away laughing and comes back in tears.
Gold that is lent goes away laughing and comes back in tears.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Lent gold leaving with laughter and returning in tears contrasts the pleasure of lending with possible difficulty at repayment. It gives money an emotional journey.
What the words are saying
The personification compresses a relationship and its possible strain into two moments. A qualified reading considers the particular arrangement without assuming every loan damages a friendship or every repayment is painful. It supplies no financial strategy and does not determine which participant feels what.
Everyday example
Two people clarify a lending arrangement and its expectations rather than assuming repayment will be simple or distress inevitable.
When to use it
Use it to discuss a lending relationship with actual terms and feelings checked.
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What it does not mean
No universal loan outcome, individual motive or financial recommendation is established.
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
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 928; PDF page 129
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.