A swallow doesn't make a summer
There are many different proverbs that you come across again and again in everyday life. You have probably heard the saying "A swallow doesn't make a summer" before. But do you also know what it means? If you don't know, this article can help you learn everything you need to know about it.
“A swallow doesn't make a summer”, almost everyone knows this saying. But very few people know where it comes from and what exactly it actually means. There is even a false origin of the saying about two Swabian tailors, which can be quite confusing. But this explanation is probably correct.
What does the swallow saying mean?
- When someone says, “A swallow doesn't make summer,” it means that you shouldn't jump to conclusions about a certain event.
- Or that you shouldn't generalize things through a single incident. Better to wait first before acting or forming an opinion.
Why doesn't a swallow make summer yet?
- Swallows are migratory birds, they fly in larger flocks in the cooler seasons to warmer countries to overwinter there. As soon as it gets warmer here in spring, they fly back.
- Due to this behavior, the swallow is seen as a harbinger of spring or of summer. If you see a swallow, you expect it to get warmer again soon, but that doesn't necessarily mean something for an individual.
- Sometimes an old or sick swallow is left behind and fails to fly south. Only when you see a lot of swallows can you assume that the warm season is approaching.
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Origin of the well-known proverb
- The saying “A swallow doesn't make a summer” can be traced back to the Aesops fable. In this fable it was told that a young man saw a swallow and therefore assumed that summer was approaching and it would soon be warm. Since he was in debt, he sold his coat. When winter struck again a little later, he found the frozen swallow and cursed her because he was now cold and blamed her for it.
- Some also say that it was about Swabian tailors who made frock coats, who produced good quality (tailors with the Names Hieronymus Sommer, therefore they called the frock coats "Summer"), the others cheap goods (tailors with the name Gustav Schwalbe). As a result, at some point people said “a swallow doesn't make a summer”. These story however, it is supposed to be a fake.
From the fable and habits of the swallows, you can well see the meaning of the proverb. Nobody should be too hasty.
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