proverb · Words worth keeping
An honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.
An honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying pairs honest pay with honest work. It presents fair compensation and a genuine contribution as matching responsibilities.
What the words are saying
The repeated day gives both sides a comparable scale without specifying an amount or hours. A useful interpretation can discuss a fair agreement and carrying it out. The phrase does not establish wage law or promise that hard work brings promotion, as the supplied gloss suggests.
Everyday example
A worker and organiser clarify the agreed task and payment before the work begins.
When to use it
Use it to discuss reciprocal fairness in an agreed exchange.
What it does not mean
No legal wage rule, promotion or particular amount is established.
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
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 220; PDF page 36
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.