proverb · Words worth keeping
He that pryeth into every cloud, may be stricken with a thunder-bolt.
He that pryeth into every cloud, may be stricken with a thunder-bolt.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying pictures someone inspecting every cloud being struck by a thunderbolt. Its warning associates intrusive curiosity with an unexpected cost.
What the words are saying
Pryeth gives the inspection a searching or meddlesome quality, while the thunder-bolt supplies an extreme consequence. As an explicit analogy, pursuing every concealed matter may bring responsibilities or conflict a person has not considered. It is not a weather rule, and it should not deter justified questions or investigations into wrongdoing.
Everyday example
Someone considers why a private detail is relevant before pressing a colleague for information unrelated to the task.
When to use it
Use it as an analogy about curiosity, relevance and boundaries.
What it does not mean
The image does not predict lightning or justify concealing matters of public concern.
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 1306 · Pryeth
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English