proverb · Words worth keeping
Revenge is sweet.
Revenge is sweet.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying describes the satisfaction someone may expect from retaliation. It expresses an attraction of revenge, not proof that revenge is wise, harmless or a good way to resolve a wrong.
Example
After a colleague makes an unfair remark, a participant considers a cutting reply but instead raises the specific issue and asks for the record to be corrected.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Sweet gives revenge the quality of a pleasing taste, presenting the appeal of seeing a wrong answered. The phrase can describe a feeling or an anticipated pleasure without establishing what follows afterwards. Retaliation may prolong a conflict or affect people beyond the original disagreement. This interpretation does not require denying anger or treating a request for a remedy as revenge. The useful distinction is between seeking acknowledgement or repair and choosing another harmful act chiefly for the satisfaction of getting even. Understanding why the prospect feels attractive is different from accepting it as a sufficient reason to act.
When to use it
Use it mainly to recognise the appeal of retaliation rather than recommend it.
Keep in mind
Pleasure does not establish a sound course of action; a fair remedy is not automatically revenge.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their 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
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English