proverb · Words worth keeping
He that handles thorns shall prick his fingers.
He that handles thorns shall prick his fingers.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
An activity involving a known difficulty can expose a person to its characteristic costs. The thorn image makes a foreseeable consequence tangible.
What the words are saying
Handling sharp plants is pictured as producing a prick. As a metaphor, it can encourage assessing a task’s demands before proceeding. It does not make every harm deserved or show that precautions are pointless. A useful interpretation asks what is reasonably foreseeable, how the burden can be reduced and whether the task is worth taking on. It is not a complete instruction for physical handling.
Everyday example
A group prepares for disagreement when taking on a contentious question instead of assuming every participant will be pleased.
When to use it
Use it to consider a foreseeable difficulty associated with a task.
What it does not mean
Anticipated harm is not automatically acceptable; this is not handling or safety advice.
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
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1606 · Thorns
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English