- English translation
If you want to make someone uncertain, offer them options.
- Literal wording
Whoever you want to bewilder, give him a choice.
- Meaning and lesson
Being asked to choose between alternatives may leave a person unable to settle on one. The proverb points to the hesitation and confusion that can arise when several possible courses are placed before someone.
It can also describe a deliberate tactic: offering alternatives to keep someone preoccupied with deciding. In that sense, it observes a potentially unsettling way of creating confusion, rather than endorsing it.
- When it is used
Use it when a choice among available alternatives leaves someone wavering, or when options are presented in a way that makes a person hesitate. It suits situations in which selecting one course, item, or response becomes difficult because several possibilities are open.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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