- English translation
A day spent tearing down is no day for building.
- Literal wording
On the day of tearing down, there is no building in it.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying points out that opposite efforts cannot bear fruit at the same moment. While something is being taken apart, it is pointless to look for anything to rise in its place; the work underway decides what the day can produce.
As advice, it discourages misplaced hope. A person should not expect a benefit or a gain from a period devoted to undoing, damaging, or dismantling, and should match expectations to what is actually being done.
- When it is used
Fits moments when someone expects a constructive result from a plainly destructive action, such as hoping to mend a relationship while quarrelling. It works as a gentle reality check.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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