proverb · Source-linked selection
What your glass tells you will not be told by counsel.
What your glass tells you will not be told by counsel.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A mirror can show a visible detail that another person’s advice leaves unspoken. The saying values direct observation alongside counsel, while limiting what appearance alone can reveal about character or understanding.
What the words are saying
The glass is read here as a mirror, which gives an immediate view of how someone appears. Counsel supplies another person’s words and judgment, and those words may omit an awkward observation or fail to reproduce the detail itself. The proverb can therefore encourage a person to look for evidence rather than depend entirely on reassuring descriptions. Its image has limits: a reflection does not disclose motives, competence or every truth about oneself. Advice may also explain something a solitary glance misses. The useful reading puts observation and conversation together without treating appearance as a complete measure of a person.
Everyday example
A speaker watches a recording to notice an unclear gesture that general encouragement did not mention.
When to use it
Use it when direct observation can supplement advice.
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What it does not mean
A visible impression does not establish character or 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 677 · Glass
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English