ProverbHub
English · Latin scriptProverb: Verified

One good turn deserves another.

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
Meaning and lesson

A kindness, favor, or helpful act ought to be met with kindness in return. The saying presents reciprocity as a fair and socially expected response to someone who has done good for another person.

It can also encourage people to sustain mutual support: one helpful deed may prompt a second. The phrase expresses an ideal of willing repayment, not necessarily an equal exchange or an enforceable obligation.

When it is used

Use it when acknowledging help and indicating an intention to repay it with a comparable kindness, or when urging reciprocal goodwill. It suits everyday conversation and writing about favors, cooperation, and considerate conduct; it need not imply that a favor creates a strict debt.

Cite or copy proverb

How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.

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