Explore English traditional proverbsReviewed 2026-10-01
Sense: Verified- Meaning and lesson
The proverb presents difficult and favorable market conditions as parts of the same experience. It says that someone unwilling to bear the lean times has no fair claim to the better times.
More broadly, it links reward with perseverance. Wanting the advantages of a good turn while refusing its hardships is treated as a failure of patience or resolve.
- When it is used
Use it to urge patience during poor trading conditions or to challenge someone who expects favorable results without accepting setbacks. Its judgment about what a person deserves can sound harsh when the hardship is beyond that person's control.
- Register
- Proverbial; old-fashioned in phrasing
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: He that cannot abide a bad market deserves not a good one.