proverb · Words worth keeping
To shiver at work, and sweat at meals.
To shiver at work, and sweat at meals.
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
The contrast questions eagerness for benefits alongside reluctance to contribute. Shivering at work and sweating at meals are caricatured images, not reliable evidence of someone’s character or physical condition.
What the words are saying
The activity associated with effort receives a hesitant response, while eating receives vigorous participation. In a human comparison, ask whether taking part in the benefits of a shared arrangement is balanced by the contribution that was actually agreed. The exaggeration does not diagnose laziness from sweating, appetite or discomfort. Nor does it establish that every person can contribute equally. Fair judgement attends to capacities, circumstances and responsibilities instead of assigning a character label from appearances. The useful question is about a particular mismatch, not a type of person.
Everyday example
A group discusses an agreed responsibility that has repeatedly gone unmet while considering what support would make a fair contribution possible.
When to use it
Use it to examine an apparent mismatch between an agreed contribution and the benefits received.
What it does not mean
Do not judge character from bodily reactions or appetite; consider ability, circumstances and the actual agreement.
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 (Spanish-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 196; Spanish section, paragraph 4094; source wording: Al hacer temblar, y al comer sudar.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.