proverb · Words worth keeping
Eat when the meal is ready, speak when the time is ripe.
Eat when the meal is ready, speak when the time is ripe.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A ready meal and ripe time for speech compare action with suitable conditions. The saying asks that speaking fit the occasion.
What the words are saying
Ready and ripe make timing tangible without establishing a universal meal rule or an exact moment for every conversation. A useful interpretation considers readiness, audience and purpose. Some concerns need prompt communication; the image should not require indefinite silence while someone else decides the time is suitable.
Everyday example
Someone arranges an appropriate occasion for a sensitive discussion while ensuring an urgent concern can still be raised.
When to use it
Use it to discuss conversational timing with necessary communication protected.
What it does not mean
No food instruction or universal reason to delay speech 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 861; PDF page 121
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.