you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
Appearance
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]1796 in English, from French, on ne saurait faire d’omelette sans casser des œufs (1742 and earlier), attributed to François de Charette.[1]
Proverb
[edit]you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
- In order to achieve something, it is inevitable and necessary that some mistakes are made or some sacrifices must occur.
- 1796, Walker's Hibernian Magazine:[1]
- It was remarked to him that he had caused the death of a great many persons. Yes, he replied, omlets are not made without breaking eggs.
- 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “The Hill of Illusion”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 93:
- She. Have you any people at Home, Guy, to be pleased with your performances?
He. One or two. One can't make omelets without breaking eggs.
- 1796, Walker's Hibernian Magazine:[1]
Translations
[edit]phrase
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.