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English
Pronunciation
Verb
suffer fools gladly
- (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.
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Anagrams