Bought wit makes folk wise.
Bought wit makes folk wise.
Meaning in plain English
A lesson that costs something can make its consequences easier to remember. The saying values learning from experience, without requiring costly mistakes or treating every painful experience as an improvement.
Example
After preparing the wrong materials for a workshop, a facilitator adds a confirmation step with the host instead of simply regretting the wasted preparation.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Wit can be understood as practical understanding, and bought suggests a lesson obtained at a price. That price might be wasted effort, disappointment or another consequence of a choice. The proverb contrasts merely hearing a warning with discovering why it matters in practice. It does not establish that mistakes always produce wisdom, or that suffering is necessary for learning. A person may need time, support or a clearer explanation to make sense of what happened. The useful question identifies what the experience actually showed and how that knowledge could change a later choice, rather than praising the cost itself.
When to use it
Use it when a concrete consequence has clarified a lesson for a later decision.
Keep in mind
Costly mistakes are not necessary or automatically instructive; advice and supported practice can also teach.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-03. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 148 · Bought wit
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗
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