suffer fools gladly

English

Alternative forms

• gladly suffer fools

Pronunciation

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Verb

suffer fools gladly

1. (idiomatic) To be tolerant of stupidity or incompetence in other people.
   • 1611, King James Bible, 2 Corinthians 11:19

     For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.

   • 1912, George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

     He was, I believe, not in the least an ill-natured man: very much the opposite, I should say; but he would not suffer fools gladly.

Usage notes

• Now usually used in the negative, to express what someone does not do.

See also

• nobody's fool

Anagrams

• gladly suffer fools