- English translation
It's my thorn, but it's lodged in somebody else's neck.
- Literal wording
My thorn is in the nape of someone other than me.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures a thorn that belongs to the speaker but has lodged in the nape of another person's neck. Because it pierces someone else, the speaker feels nothing, while the other person takes all the pain. The image separates the owner of a problem from the person who suffers its sting.
In practice, the expression marks a shift of responsibility or consequence. A person who should have answered for an affair walks away free, and someone else ends up paying the price, taking the blame, or dealing with the trouble.
- When it is used
Use it when someone has escaped the blame, cost, or consequence of a matter while another person carries it, including one's own lucky escape. Said of oneself, it can sound smug or uncaring toward the person left suffering, so tone matters.
Cite or copy proverb
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