the bigger they are, the harder they fall

the bigger they are, the harder they fall

English

Alternative forms

• the bigger they come, the harder they fall

Proverb

the bigger they are, the harder they fall

1. The larger or the higher rank something is, the more disastrous and spectacular its downfall.

Translations

proverb

Dutch: hoge bomen vangen veel wind Finnish: ryskyen kaatuvat suuret puut German: wer hoch steigt, fällt tief; wer hoch fliegt, fällt tief; wer viel hat, kann viel verlieren Khmer: ឈើ​ធំ​រលំឮ​ខ្លាំង (cʰəə tʰom rɔlum lɨɨ klaŋ)

Portuguese: quanto maior a altura, maior a queda Russian: чем бо́льше шкаф, тем гро́мче он па́дает (čem bólʹše škaf, tem grómče on pádajet) (the bigger is a cupboard, the louder it falls) Slovene: kdor visoko leta, nizko pade Spanish: más dura será la caída

See also

• how the mighty have fallen
• the highest branch is not the safest roost
• uneasy lies in the head that wears a crown