proverb · Legacy record
Who gossips with you will gossip of you.
Who gossips with you will gossip of you.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A person gossiping with someone later gossiping about them warns that an observed communication habit may also affect the listener. The saying questions selective trust.
What the words are saying
The universal prediction is not evidence that every discussion of an absent person is harmful or that all speakers will betray confidence. A useful application distinguishes necessary reporting from unsupported personal talk and clarifies privacy expectations without making blanket suspicion a rule.
Everyday example
Someone declines to spread an unsupported personal claim while keeping room to report a genuine concern.
When to use it
Use it to discuss confidentiality and responsible communication.
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What it does not mean
No inevitable betrayal or prohibition on necessary reporting 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
Ireland
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 838; PDF page 74; collection label: Ireland
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Ireland