fools rush in where angels fear to tread

English edit

Etymology edit

From An Essay on Criticism (1711) by Alexander Pope.[1]

Proverb edit

fools rush in where angels fear to tread

  1. A person who does not plan ahead and think matters through becomes involved in risky or unfavorable situations which prudent people avoid.
    Synonym: look before you leap
    Antonym: he who hesitates is lost
    • 1915, Thomas Dixon, The Foolish Virgin[1]:
      “It's the first article of your creed—that marriage is a holy sacrament, that no power on earth or in hell can ever dissolve its bonds? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, my dear! They always have—they always will, I suppose.
    • 1921, William T. Tilden, The Art of Lawn Tennis[2]:
      The year following my graduation the new Captain of my Alma Mater's team asked me if I would aid him in developing the squad for next year. Well, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," so I said Yes.
    • 1922, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther, chapter 5, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., →OCLC:
      Then, too, a record of failures—particularly if it is a dignified and well-authenticated record—deters a young man from trying. We get some of our best results from letting fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Usage notes edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Alexander Pope (1711) An Essay on Criticism: “Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Church-yard: / Nay, run to Altars; there they'll talk you dead; / For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.”

Further reading edit