the jug goes to the well until it breaks en · X
Meanings
-
Even though something can be used well at the moment, it will eventually break down as everything does.
“The jug goes to the well until it breaks,” said Xandi. Brigitte frequently quoted the saying when confronted by her boys' obstinacy.
2015, Hermann Kauders, And God Created Bedbugs Too, →ISBN:“The jug goes to the well until it breaks” – this may not be so terrible involving a jug – translated to the failure of a scaffolding assembly, it may, however, involve loss of life.
2009, Franz Knoll, Thomas Vogel, Design for Robustness, →ISBN, page 78:It was not the mother herself, but good neighbor women who uncovered the danger. And as always in such cases: the jug goes to the well until it breaks! The court sentenced the man to two years in a penitentiary, five years loss of civic right, and expulsion from this country for ten years, although he had not previously been sentenced.
2013, Hubert Kennedy -, The Ideal Gay Man: The Story of Der Kreis, →ISBN, page 197:
Relateds
Synonyms
the pitcher goes so often to the well that it is broken at last
Translations (6)
ru пова́дился кувши́н по́ воду ходи́ть, тут ему́ и го́лову сломи́ть (a jug goes to the well) · fr tant va la cruche à l'eau qu'à la fin elle se casse (a jug goes to the well) · cs tak dlouho se chodí se džbánem pro vodu, až se ucho utrhne (a jug goes to the well) · pl póty dzban wodę nosi, póki się ucho nie urwie (a jug goes to the well) · de der Krug geht so lange zum Brunnen, bis er bricht (a jug goes to the well) · ru ско́лько верёвочке ни ви́ться, а концу́ быть (a jug goes to the well)