proverb · Words worth keeping
An ass with her colt goes not straight to the mill.
An ass with her colt goes not straight to the mill.
In print by 1857 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
A dependent can change the route or pace of a task. The ass and her colt make an apparently indirect journey understandable in relation to another creature’s needs.
What the words are saying
The journey to the mill is not straight when the colt accompanies the ass. Read the image as a reminder that caring responsibilities can affect how an undertaking proceeds. What looks like inefficiency from outside may involve attention to someone else. The saying does not prove a rule about animal behaviour or justify judging every delay as caregiving. Ask about the actual circumstances before demanding a uniform pace, and consider what support could make the task more manageable.
Everyday example
A team offers a flexible arrival time to a member accompanying a child instead of treating the longer journey as a lack of commitment.
When to use it
Use it to consider how a responsibility for a dependent changes an otherwise simple task.
What it does not mean
Do not infer circumstances without asking or treat the animal image as a universal account of caregivers.
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 (Spanish-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). 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
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 202; Spanish section, paragraph 4210; source wording: Asna con pollino no va derecha al molino.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.