- English translation
If you offer yourself as a bridge, expect people to walk over you.
- Literal wording
Whoever makes his back into a bridge must bear being trodden on.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying rebukes someone who knowingly makes himself available for others to exploit, burden, or demean, then protests the treatment that follows. Its harsh wording stresses responsibility for accepting an arrangement that invites such conduct.
It also warns against excessive submission: someone who continually yields to others’ demands may be treated as though his dignity and limits do not matter. The saying urges firmer boundaries, but does not imply that people subjected to coercion or abuse are responsible for mistreatment.
- When it is used
Used as blunt advice when someone has been overly accommodating or has enabled disrespect and later complains of the predictable result. Use cautiously where unequal power, coercion, or abuse is involved, since it can wrongly shift responsibility onto the person harmed.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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