proverb · Legacy record
If you follow a fool, you’re a fool yourself. –Jamaican
If you follow a fool, you’re a fool yourself. –Jamaican
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Following someone called foolish then being foolish oneself gives imitation an inherited judgment. The supplied wording includes a Jamaican label.
What the words are saying
A critical reading retains the source label without a verified origin claim and rejects a label as proof of worth. A useful application checks advice and actions rather than following blindly or condemning someone by association. A person can learn from a mistake without being fixed permanently by a past choice.
Everyday example
Someone checks a suggested action’s reasons instead of relying only on the person proposing it.
When to use it
Use it critically to examine imitation without guilt by association.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
No fixed foolishness or moral fault established by association alone.
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 wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 998; PDF page 85; collection label: Miscellaneous Proverbs
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Miscellaneous Proverbs