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ProverbHub
EnglishLatin scriptExpression: Verified

A watched pot never boils.

Rights cleared.

Meanings

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Patience and delayed outcomesReviewed 2026-08-24
Sense: Verified
Literal translation

A watched pot never boils.

Natural translation

A watched pot never boils.

Functional meaning

Says that concentrating on a wait makes it feel longer.

Usage context

Used to tell someone to stop continually checking an outcome that needs time.

Community
Unknown
Region
Unknown
Historical period
Recorded from 1848, with a dialect form documented in 1884.
Register
proverbial

What supports this meaning

Period

  • English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases: A Historical DictionaryG. L. Apperson1929Dictionary

    Locator: p. 669, s.v. "Watched pot never boils, A"

    Recorded from 1848, with a dialect form documented in 1884.

    Claim: VerifiedHistorical or primary sourceAI data-completeness reviewer, 2026-08-24

    Rights cleared. Only short proverb strings and factual bibliographic or locator metadata; attribute and link the work; do not reproduce scan pages or surrounding dictionary entries.

Compared with

No reviewed comparison includes this meaning yet.

How this record reached us: AI suggested. This describes provenance and does not raise confidence.

Report an issue with this meaning: A watched pot never boils.