proverb · Words worth keeping
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying imagines a predetermined death by hanging preventing death by drowning. It turns one danger into an apparent escape through a claim of fixed destiny.
What the words are saying
Born to be links an outcome to a person’s beginning, leaving little room for chance or choice. This can reveal fatalistic thinking: an expected end is treated as if it excludes other possibilities. A careful reading studies that belief without relying on it when facing danger or assuming anyone is destined for punishment.
Everyday example
A reader notices the logic of fixed fate in a story while refusing to treat it as a reason to disregard a real danger.
When to use it
Use it to discuss fatalism in an extreme image.
What it does not mean
Predestination in the saying is not a safety guarantee or a judgment about a person’s worth.
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
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 145 · Born
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English