proverb · Source-linked selection
Very hard times in the wood when the wolves eat each other.
Very hard times in the wood when the wolves eat each other.
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
When hardship turns usual companions against each other, conditions may be severe. The wolves’ conflict depicts breakdown under pressure rather than recommending predatory behaviour.
What the words are saying
The striking image is of wolves consuming members of their own group. Read figuratively, it suggests scarcity or strain so serious that ordinary cooperation gives way to mutual harm. The saying can help identify a deteriorating situation before blame is assigned solely to individual temperament. Ask what pressures, incentives or missing resources are driving the conflict and what support could restore workable relations. It remains an image, not a claim about animal behaviour or a justification for people to injure one another under difficult conditions.
Everyday example
A short-staffed team begins competing over basic supplies. Its manager addresses the shortage and agrees a sharing process instead of rewarding the strongest complaint.
When to use it
Use it to recognise cooperation breaking down under severe pressure.
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What it does not mean
Hardship does not excuse abuse. Address material pressures while keeping responsibility for harmful choices clear.
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 21; French section, paragraph 425; source wording: Il fait bien mauvais au bois quand les loups se mangent l’un l’autre.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.