bring one's own hide to market
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Probably from a German proverb, notably adapted by Karl Marx to describe the exploited worker who must sell himself, or his "own hide", in the labor market:
- 1867, Karl Marx, trans. Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, Capital, vol. 1 ch. 6:
- [T]he possessor of labour-power follows […] , timid and holding back, like one who is bringing his own hide to market and has nothing to expect but — a hiding.
Verb
bring one's own hide to market
- (US, idiomatic, often in proverbial form) To create one's own fate, as a result of one's chosen character and actions; to experience the appropriate consequences of one's behavior.
- 1869, Berthold Auerback, trans. Charles C. Shackford, The Country-house on the Rhine, ch. 8, p. 223:
- "[T]hou art a living passenger upon this earth, and must look out for thyself. Help yourself! Nobody forwards thee to thy destination; and we Germans have a proverb that comes near it in meaning: 'Each one must carry his own hide to market.'"
- 1989, John Updike, "A Letter to My Grandsons" in Self-Consciousness: Memoirs, Random House, →ISBN:
- In this grandfatherly letter about my paternal grandfather, whom I never knew, let me end by offering you, as part of your heritage, this saying ascribed to my other grandfather, John Hoyer, whom I knew well, who watched me grow from infancy and who lived in good health until he was over ninety. You carry your own hide to market.
- 2010 March 30, "Murder charge filed in Roodhouse woman's death," The Telegraph (Alton, Illinois) (retrieved 2 May 2019):
- Arnold said whoever was responsible for her sister's death eventually will face punishment. "I don't know why they did it to her," Arnold said. "But like I said, it's over with. But they've got to take their hide to market."
- 2019 January 22, "CNN Transcript, "State of the Union" broadcast," CNN.com (retrieved 29 April 2019):
- Avlon: Rudy Giuliani . . . made it really clear in sort of a fit of fatalism that he doesn't feel responsible for his legacy. And that's ultimately his choice. You take your own hide to market.
- 1869, Berthold Auerback, trans. Charles C. Shackford, The Country-house on the Rhine, ch. 8, p. 223: