- English translation
Trim your bird's wings and it will stay by your side; let its feathers grow out and it will fly off to someone else.
- Literal wording
Clip the feathers of your bird, it stays around you; make them long, it goes off to someone other than you.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb voices a historical attitude of guardedness toward people who depend on you, especially servants and similar subordinates. It holds that keeping them limited in means or freedom keeps them loyal and nearby, while indulging them too generously invites them to drift away to another master. This reflects the speaker's outlook, not neutral advice.
The image is a household bird: clip its feathers and it stays around you; let them grow long and it flies off to someone else. The two halves are a cause-and-effect pair. The point is calculated control: never loosen your hold so far that what you rely on slips out of reach.
- When it is used
Historically quoted as a warning by someone who believes those under their authority, such as household help, will leave or serve others if given too much freedom or means. It frames tight control as prudence; applied to modern employment or family relationships it sounds harsh or possessive.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Trim your bird's wings and it will stay by your side; let its feathers grow out and it will fly off to someone else.