- English translation
A mouse that runs about recklessly ends up as the cat's meal.
- Literal wording
The headlong-rushing mouse is the cat's portion.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying warns that a person who flings himself headlong into every hazard, heedless of what may follow, practically offers himself up to harm. Just as a mouse that rashly exposes itself becomes the cat's prey, the reckless person invites the very misfortune that catches him.
The point is not bad luck or mere speed but self-exposure. The cat stands for whatever danger the reckless person walks into, not a particular enemy or authority. The proverb blames the person's own rashness and urges forethought before entering any risky venture.
- When it is used
Say this about someone who plunges into every risky situation without weighing the consequences, usually as a warning or as a remark after they have come to harm. It criticizes rashness, not courage, and can sound blunt when addressed to the person directly.
- Register
- Colloquial; the wording uses dialectal forms
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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