- English translation
So, No, where were you hiding when I said yes?
- Literal wording
Where were you, O No, when I said Yes?
- Meaning and lesson
The saying mocks complaints that come too late. Someone agreed to something without paying attention and now protests about the result. The speaker imagines refusal as a person who stayed away when the yes was spoken, and asks why that objection said nothing back then.
The point is that consent, once given, closes off easy complaint. Responsibility lies with the person who failed to object in time. It serves as an ironic, gentle rebuke rather than a sympathetic reply: if the matter bothered you, the time to say so was when you were agreeing to it.
- When it is used
Say it to someone who grumbles about a deal, task, or arrangement they accepted without much thought. It reminds them that the moment to object has passed. Its tone is ironic and mildly reproachful, a teasing jab rather than sympathy or serious criticism.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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