every dog has its day

English

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Alternative forms

• every dog has his day
• every dog must have his day
• every dog must have its day

Proverb

every dog has its day

1. Everyone, at some point, experiences some degree of success, impact, or influence in life.
   • 1898, [George] Bernard Shaw, “Cæsar and Cleopatra”, in Three Plays for Puritans: The Devil’s Disciple, Cæsar and Cleopatra, & Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, London: Grant Richards, […], published 1901, →OCLC, Act III, page 153:

     cæsar [...] Yes, Rufio: I am an old man—worn out now—true, quite true. [...] Well, every dog has his day; and I have had mine: I cannot complain.

   • 1987 November 5, Thomas George, “Football: First Down, Many Goals to Go”, in New York Times, retrieved 13 July 2015:

     "[T]o lose, it hurt. But I learned from that. I learned that every dog has its day. I learned patience."

   • 2012 August 11, “Europa League: Hearts delight at Liverpool tie”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 13 July 2015:

     The Hearts manager John McGlynn was thrilled to be drawn against Liverpool in the Europa League play-offs. McGlynn said: ". . . . I would imagine the bookmakers would favour Liverpool but every dog has its day."

Translations

proverb

• Arabic: كُلّ كَلْب بِيجِي يُومُه (kull kalb bījī yūmuh) (used in negative context)
• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 臭頭仔嘛會做皇帝，做總統你嘛有機會／臭头仔嘛会做皇帝，做总统你嘛有机会 (Chhàu-thâu-á mā ē chò hông-tè, chò chóng-thóng lí mā ū ki-hōe)

• Estonian: igal oinal oma mihklipäev
• Finnish: paistaa se päivä risukasaankin (literally “the day will shine to a pile of brushwood, too”)
• French: à chacun vient sa chance, à chacun son heure de gloire
• German: auch ein blindes Huhn findet mal ein Korn (de) (literally “even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain”)
• Hebrew: כל כלב בא יומו (he) (used in negative context as well), אין לך אדם שאין לו שעה (en lakha adam she'en lo sha'a)
• Hindi: हर कुत्ते का दिन आता है (har kutte kā din ātā hai)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} minden zsák megtalálja a maga foltját (hu) (literally “every sack finds its own patch”)
• Polish: każdy ma w życiu swoje pięć minut
• Portuguese: um dia da caça, outro do caçador
• Russian: бу́дет и на на́шей у́лице пра́здник (ru) (búdet i na nášej úlice prázdnik, literally “and in our street there will be holiday too”)
• Spanish: a todo cerdo le llega su san Martín (literally “every pig will get his St. Martin”)
• Turkish: bize de şans güler bir gün elbet (literally “surely fortune will one day smile on us”)

See also

• even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 87.