dance with the one that brought you

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English

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Alternative forms

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Alternative forms of dance with the one that brought you

Proverb

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dance with the one that brought you

  1. (chiefly US and Canada) Be considerate and loyal to the one who has been supportive, attentive, or helpful to you.
    • 1986, Cooperative Farmer, Vols 42-43, p. 77. (Google snippet view) (retrieved 9 May 2018):
      "I have had people say, ‘Oh, the landscaping business is doing OK. So, you're going to get out of tobacco farming.’ No! I would like to see my landscaping business grow. But, without the cash flow from the farm, I would not have been able to start the landscaping operation," the Bunn, N.C., farmer stresses. "As they say, you dance with the one that brought you."
    • 2000 October 18, Thomas Boswell, “Unlike the Boss, Torre Recognizes the Right Stuff”, in Washington Post, retrieved 9 May 2018:
      Sometimes you have to dance with the one that brought you. And, ever since he won a crucial Game Four in Cleveland on 16 days rest in the 1998 ALCS, Torre has trusted Hernandez more than any of his starters.
    • 2014 February 17, John E. Sununu, “Keeping Obama at arm’s length”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 9 May 2018:
      Obama’s approval ratings have fallen below 40 percent. “Dance with the one that brought you,” the saying goes, but when you are a Senate Democrat stuck with the wrong prom date, there’s only one thing to do: hide in the bathroom.
    • 2016 April 30, James Allan, “Leaving the dance with the one who brought you”, in Spectator, UK, retrieved 9 May 2018:
      I mention this Canadian Conservative Prime Minister because he coined the political adage ‘you dance with the one that brought you’. In less colourful terms Mulroney meant that a Prime Minister should ‘never, ever ignore his party’s base’.

Synonyms

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Synonyms of dance with the one that brought you