- English translation
Suppose the fish does breathe fire: the water around it will put the flame out.
- Literal wording
The fish brings out fire; the water puts it out.
- Meaning and lesson
Even if a fish could somehow produce fire, it lives surrounded by water, so any flame would be quenched the moment it appeared. The deliberately impossible image pictures a danger cancelled by the very conditions around it; it says nothing about real fish.
The saying expresses unconcern about a threat or worry that carries its own remedy. Because something already prevents the harm, there is no reason for alarm, however fierce the warning may sound.
- When it is used
Use it to shrug off a threat or alarming prospect when some built-in safeguard already neutralizes it. It suits replies to bluster or intimidation, signalling that the speaker sees no real risk and will not be moved by the words.
- Register
- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Suppose the fish does breathe fire: the water around it will put the flame out.