- English translation
Instead of breaking pots, give their value to the potter.
- Literal wording
Give the potter the money you spend on the yogurt bowls you break.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying points out the futility of repeatedly breaking earthenware that must then be replaced. The money lost through the breakage could simply be handed to the person who makes or sells the vessels, with no object wasted in the process.
It expresses a preference for a direct and sensible result over conduct that creates needless expense. Rather than continuing an action whose only outcome is more replacement cost, one should avoid the damage and direct the same value toward a useful end.
- When it is used
Use it when someone keeps damaging replaceable household items or wastes money through avoidable breakage, and the point is that the expense would be better directed plainly and usefully.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Instead of breaking pots, give their value to the potter.