proverb · Legacy record
Those who know to play can overcome the challenges of life, and the ones who can sing and laugh never brew mischief.
Those who know to play can overcome the challenges of life, and the ones who can sing and laugh never brew mischief.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Play pictured as overcoming difficulty and singing or laughter as preventing mischief give enjoyment a positive moral role. The saying values playful engagement.
What the words are saying
Can and never make the statement broader than evidence supplied by the wording. A responsible reading can welcome wanted recreation without promising resilience or inferring goodness from a cheerful manner. People who do not sing or laugh are not thereby harmful, and enjoyment does not guarantee considerate conduct.
Everyday example
A group welcomes a useful playful approach while still assessing the actual effects of its conduct.
When to use it
Use it to discuss the valued role of play with absolute claims qualified.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
No guaranteed coping ability or moral innocence from singing and laughter is established.
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 33; PDF page 11; collection label: Eskimo
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Eskimo