proverb · Source-linked selection
Don’t snap your fingers at the dogs before you are out of the village.
Don’t snap your fingers at the dogs before you are out of the village.
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
Do not provoke a threat while you are still exposed to it. Restraint can be a practical way to leave a difficult situation safely.
What the words are saying
The traveller mocks the dogs before reaching the edge of the village, while they can still follow or attack. The saying directs attention to timing and vulnerability: a display of contempt can create a fresh danger before a person has completed their exit. A careful reading need not approve mockery once safety is reached. Avoiding unnecessary provocation is useful throughout. The image can help someone choose a calm departure, arrange support or delay a confrontation until they can address it without exposing themselves to immediate retaliation.
Everyday example
A person leaving a hostile meeting asks a colleague to accompany them rather than staying to trade insults on the way out.
When to use it
Use it to consider safety and timing during a difficult departure.
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What it does not mean
Responsibility for threats lies with the threatening person. This is an option for reducing exposure, not a demand that someone tolerate abuse.
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 (French-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 24; French section, paragraph 470; source wording: Il ne faut pas se moquer des chiens qu’on ne soit hors du village.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.