proverb · Words worth keeping
To the devil with so many masters, said the toad to the harrow.
To the devil with so many masters, said the toad to the harrow.
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 toad’s complaint about many masters pictures pressure from several directing forces. Conflicting control can make a shared task harder to navigate.
What the words are saying
The harrow presents many points around the toad rather than one clear direction. Its complaint gives excessive mastery a hostile form. Figuratively, a participant may face incompatible demands from several organisers. A useful response clarifies who decides what and how disagreements will be resolved. The saying does not condemn collaboration itself or imply that one unchecked authority would be better. The problem is oppressive or confused control, not merely the presence of several people.
Everyday example
Several editors give contradictory instructions, so the group agrees on one decision process and an accountable contact.
When to use it
Use it when overlapping authority creates contradictory or oppressive demands.
What it does not mean
Clear coordination still needs accountability and room for legitimate disagreement.
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 6; French section, paragraph 117; source wording: Au diable tant de maîtres, dit le crapaud à la herse.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.