proverb · Words worth keeping
In the end it will be known who ate the bacon.
In the end it will be known who ate the bacon.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Responsibility for a concealed act may become clear eventually. The missing bacon gives a concrete shape to a question about who benefited or took something.
What the words are saying
Someone has eaten the bacon, and the identity of that person is initially uncertain. The saying looks ahead to a time when the circumstances become clearer. It can express confidence that concealed responsibility will leave evidence, or encourage patience while facts are gathered. Its certainty is rhetorical: some questions remain unresolved. A careful use focuses on finding reliable information rather than naming a suspect prematurely. The image also concerns the person who consumed the benefit, which may differ from whoever was nearby or first attracted suspicion.
Everyday example
A group checks its booking records before deciding who used the reserved room without permission.
When to use it
Use it when responsibility is uncertain and evidence may emerge.
What it does not mean
The passage of time does not guarantee proof or justify an accusation.
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 (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 2; French section, paragraph 41; source wording: A la fin saura-t-on qui a mangé le lard.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.