- English translation
The jar won't escape breaking every single time.
- Literal wording
Not every time does the jar come through safe.
- Meaning and lesson
A jar may come through unbroken once, yet that lucky outcome offers no assurance about the next occasion. The saying uses this simple image to remind listeners that surviving one hazard is chance, not proof of safety.
Applied to people, it warns against treating a lucky escape as permission to take the same gamble again. The circumstances that rescued someone before may not line up a second time, so repeating a dangerous choice invites the damage that was narrowly avoided.
- When it is used
Suitable when cautioning someone who escaped harm from a risky act and now plans to repeat it. It works as a gentle but pointed warning that earlier good fortune guarantees nothing, and fits advice, reproach, or reflection after a close call.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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