- English translation
If you put yourself into the work, be ready for the knocks that come with it.
- Literal wording
Whoever makes his hand a ladle must endure the beating of the pots.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb advises a person who voluntarily takes on a task or enters an affair to accept the unpleasant consequences that may follow. Its image of a hand serving as a ladle and striking pots is figurative, not literal.
It may be addressed to someone who complains about predictable hardship after becoming involved. The point is not that suffering is desirable, but that responsibility includes bearing the ordinary strain, criticism, or trouble attached to one’s choice.
- When it is used
Use it when someone has entered a demanding matter by their own decision and then objects to foreseeable difficulties. It suits a mildly admonishing or matter-of-fact response about accepting the burdens that accompany participation.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: If you put yourself into the work, be ready for the knocks that come with it.