proverb · Words worth keeping
If you trust before you try, You may repent it ere you die.
If you trust before you try, You may repent it ere you die.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Trust given before a reasonable check can lead to regret. The saying encourages care while exaggerating the duration of the possible consequence.
What the words are saying
Trying before trusting asks for some basis in conduct or evidence before reliance. It can be useful when a decision gives someone important access or responsibility. It does not require humiliating tests, total certainty or suspicion of everyone. A careful reading matches the check to the stakes and allows trust to grow through fair, reciprocal experience. The threat of lifelong regret should not become an excuse for never cooperating.
Everyday example
A group checks references and clarifies responsibilities before handing a sensitive task to a new collaborator.
When to use it
Use it to consider a proportionate basis for reliance.
What it does not mean
Trust always involves some uncertainty, and checks should respect dignity and privacy.
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 1665 · Trust
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English