Good luck makes its way in by elbowing.
Good luck makes its way in by elbowing.
Meaning in plain English
Luck is pictured making room for itself rather than waiting passively. The elbowing image values active pursuit of an opening, without promising success or endorsing harm to people in the way.
Example
A learner asks whether a workshop has a cancellation list instead of assuming that the first full booking means no place can become available.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The movement belongs to luck, as if a favourable outcome had to press through a crowd. One useful reading notices the part that initiative can play in finding an opportunity. Asking, applying or trying may expose a possibility that waiting alone does not. The image should not be taken as permission to shove people aside or disregard fair access. Effort is only part of an outcome: resources, chance and barriers can still affect what becomes possible.
When to use it
Use it to consider a constructive action that may create or reveal an opening.
Keep in mind
Initiative does not guarantee luck and does not justify coercion or unfair advantage.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 201; Spanish section, paragraph 4177; source wording: A puñadas entran las buenas hadas.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗