- English translation
An ill-starred doorstep: one crowd leaves, and another walks in.
- Literal wording
A blue threshold: a party goes, a party comes.
- Meaning and lesson
The speaker tells the listener that they are not indispensable. If this person or group goes away, others will soon take their place, so the threat of departure carries no weight. The saying works as a shrug of indifference toward anyone who thinks their absence will be keenly felt.
The image behind it is an ill-omened threshold; calling it blue marks it as unlucky, not as a painted doorway. Such a house is thought never to keep its occupants for long, so people constantly pass in and out. By invoking it, the speaker treats comings and goings as routine and refuses to mourn any single loss.
- When it is used
Said to someone threatening to leave, or already walking away, to signal that their departure costs the speaker nothing. It is a curt, somewhat defiant retort that treats people as interchangeable visitors passing through a doorway, not a neutral comment on hospitality.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: An ill-starred doorstep: one crowd leaves, and another walks in.