proverb · Words worth keeping
All feet tread not in one shoe.
All feet tread not in one shoe.
In print by 1893 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
One arrangement will not fit everyone. Differences between people may require different provisions, just as feet of different sizes cannot all use the same shoe comfortably.
What the words are saying
The shoe supplies a concrete test of fit: something useful for one person may be unsuitable for another. Applied more broadly, the proverb questions a rule or solution designed as though everyone had the same needs. A practical reading encourages attention to the circumstances of the people who will use an arrangement. It does not mean that every shared standard must disappear or that fairness requires an entirely separate system for each person. The useful task is to identify where a common approach works and where a reasonable adjustment is necessary. Similar treatment and a suitable outcome are not always the same thing.
Everyday example
A workshop offers written instructions alongside a spoken demonstration so participants can use the format that helps them.
When to use it
Use it when a single arrangement overlooks differing needs.
What it does not mean
Useful shared standards can coexist with reasonable adjustments.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional proverb
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1893 AD · industrial
In print by 1893: recorded in Dictionary of Quotations (1893). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Pr. · page_009
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.