even a worm will turn

谚语
中文释义

英文释义

谚语
  1. Even the meekest or most docile people will retaliate or seek revenge if pushed too far.
    — The ſmalleſt Worme will turne, being troden on, / And Doues will pecke in ſafegard of their Brood.
    The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on, and doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.

词源

First attested in a collection of proverbs by John Heywood in 1546, in the form “Treade a worme on the tayle, and it must turne agayne.” Popularized by William Shakespeare in The Third Part of Henry the Sixth, see quotations.
0 次浏览 数据来源: Wiktionary