proverb · Source-linked selection
The lame goeth as far as the staggerer.
The lame goeth as far as the staggerer.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying gives a lame person and a staggerer equal distance. It compares two different difficulties in movement rather than proving that one description determines an outcome.
What the words are saying
As far makes the comparison about a result, leaving effort, circumstances and the cause of staggering unstated. A careful interpretation can question a confident ranking based on appearances. It should not use disability as an insult or assume that people with different needs are interchangeable. The actual person’s situation matters more than the brief comparison.
Everyday example
An organiser asks what support each participant needs rather than predicting their progress from a label.
When to use it
Use it critically to examine a comparison between different movement difficulties.
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What it does not mean
The wording does not establish capability, prognosis or a hierarchy of people’s worth.
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 914 · Lame
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English