proverb · Words worth keeping
Idleness is the key of beggary.
Idleness is the key of beggary.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying warns that neglecting available work can contribute to material difficulty. Its absolute link between inactivity and poverty is too narrow to explain people’s circumstances.
What the words are saying
Idleness is made a key that opens the way to need. This can prompt a person to examine a task they are avoiding when they have the means to act. It should not be used to blame poverty on laziness. Illness, disability, exclusion, unpaid care and lack of suitable opportunities can all make the label unfair. A useful application concerns a specific avoidable omission, while allowing rest and asking what barriers or support actually matter.
Everyday example
A team addresses a neglected application it has the resources to complete, rather than using the saying to judge people without work.
When to use it
Use it for an identifiable avoidable neglect, not as an explanation of poverty.
What it does not mean
Poverty has many causes; rest, disability and lack of opportunity are not moral failures.
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 837 · Idleness
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English