fools rush in where angels fear to tread
English
Etymology
From An Essay on Criticism (1711) by Alexander Pope.[1]
Proverb
fools rush in where angels fear to tread
- A person who does not plan ahead and think matters through becomes involved in risky or unfavorable situations which prudent people avoid.
- Synonym: look before you leap
- Antonym: he who hesitates is lost
- 1915, Thomas Dixon, The Foolish Virgin:
- “It's the first article of your creed—that marriage is a holy sacrament, that no power on earth or in hell can ever dissolve its bonds? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, my dear! They always have—they always will, I suppose.
- 1921, William T. Tilden, The Art of Lawn Tennis:
- The year following my graduation the new Captain of my Alma Mater's team asked me if I would aid him in developing the squad for next year. Well, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," so I said Yes.
- 1922, Henry Ford; Samuel Crowther, chapter 5, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., OCLC 800601188:
- Then, too, a record of failures—particularly if it is a dignified and well-authenticated record—deters a young man from trying. We get some of our best results from letting fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Usage notes
- Often abbreviated as fools rush in.
References
- Alexander Pope (1711) An Essay on Criticism: “Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Church-yard: / Nay, run to Altars; there they'll talk you dead; / For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.”
Further reading
fools rush in where angels fear to tread on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - Gary Martin (1997–), “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”, in The Phrase Finder.
- Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 104.