proverb · Legacy record
Don't blow your own trumpet.
Don't blow your own trumpet.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The instruction warns against blowing one’s own trumpet. It discourages conspicuous self-praise.
What the words are saying
The loud instrument gives boasting an image. A useful reading distinguishes inflated praise from an accurate account of contribution or a reasonable request for recognition. The supplied successful-year example illustrates the affirmative phrase rather than the source’s negative instruction.
Everyday example
Someone describes their work accurately without exaggerating it or erasing their contribution.
When to use it
Use it to distinguish boasting from fair self-description.
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What it does not mean
Speaking about achievements is not automatically arrogance.
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 465; PDF page 69
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.