proverb · Words worth keeping
The mortar always smells of the garlic.
The mortar always smells of the garlic.
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
The mortar retains a trace of what it has held. The garlic image suggests that past use can leave an impression, without proving that people or situations can never change.
What the words are saying
The smell remains associated with the mortar after the garlic has been worked in it. Applied to experience, a past practice can leave traces in a place, a routine or people’s expectations even after its immediate occasion has ended. Ask what persists and whether a change needs attention to those traces. The word always intensifies the image; it should not be read as evidence that an old reputation is permanently deserved. A remembered influence is worth examining, but it is not a complete description of the present.
Everyday example
A group changes an exclusionary meeting rule and also asks what would help former participants trust that the new arrangement is real.
When to use it
Use it to consider the lasting traces of an earlier practice or experience.
What it does not mean
Do not use the image to deny change or preserve an accusation without current evidence.
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 32; French section, paragraph 648; source wording: Le mortier sent toujours les aulx.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.