all cats are grey in the dark

English

Etymology

Attributed to Benjamin Franklin, explaining why to take an older woman to bed, but appears in John Heywood's book of proverbs (1546) as 'When all candles be out, all cats be gray.'

Proverb

all cats are grey in the dark

1. In the dark, physical appearance is unimportant.

Translations

proverb

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (literal) 貓在黑暗中都是灰色的, 猫在黑暗中都是灰色的 (māo zài hēi'àn zhōng dōu shì huīsè de)

• Finnish: kaikki kissat ovat pimeässä harmaita (fi)
• French: la nuit, tous les chats sont gris (fr)

  (Cajun French) dans la nuit, tous les chats sont gris (fr)

• German: nachts sind alle Katzen grau (de)
• Italian: di notte tutti i gatti sono bigi (it), di notte tutti i gatti sono grigi (it)

• Norwegian: i mørket er alle katter grå (no)
• Polish: w nocy wszystkie koty są czarne (pl)
• Portuguese: à noite todo gato é pardo (pt)
• Russian: ночью все кошки серы (ru) (nóčʹju vse kóški séry)
• Spanish: (no woman is ugly by candlelight) a la luz de la vela, no hay mujer fea (es), de noche todos los gatos son pardos (es)
• Thai: (women are beatiful when candles are extinguished) นารีงามสรรพเมื่อดับเทียน (th) (naa-ree ngaam sàp mêua dàp tian)