Dictionary

the proof of the pudding is in the eating en · X

Etymology

First attested in William Camden's Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine (1605) as “All the proofe of a pudding, is in the eating.”

Meanings

1. One can only claim that something is a success after it has been tried out or used.
   • It begs the question: will this be a costly mistake? I think not, but the proof of the pudding is in a RAIL train test - so armed with stopwatch, measuring tape and notepad, it was time to head north to track one down and test it! 2019 October 23, Pip Dunn, “The next king of Scotland”, in RAIL, page 50:
   • “We welcome the law [Anti-Corruption Bill], but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating,” said Sankhitha Gunaratne, deputy executive director of Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL). 2023 July 20, “Sri Lanka passes anti-corruption bill as part of IMF bailout plan”, in Al Jazeera:
   • Indeed, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. 2011, “Flying Guillotine” (11:30 from the start), in MythBusters, episode 175, spoken by Narrator (Robert Lee):
   • Mrs. Atkins—Say what you've a mind to, Kate, the proof of the puddin's in the eatin'; and you can't deny that things have been goin' from bad to worse ever since your husband died two years back. 1920, Eugene O'Neill, Beyond the Horizon: A Play in Three Acts, New York: Boni and Liveright, pages 68–9:
   • This is an armchair criticism, and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. 1951 April, Stirling Everard, “A Matter of Pedigree”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 274:
   • CHAPTER XXI Meeting at Geneva The proof of the pudding is in the eating. -Traditional aphorism 1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 503:
   • I know you didn't think it was a very good product, but just look at the fantastic sales figures. That's the proof of the pudding.

Forms

Translations (23)

ko 백문이 불여일견 (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · es al freír de los huevos lo verá (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · sh ne znaš dok ne probaš (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · de Probieren geht über Studieren (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · pl nie przekonasz się, dopóki nie spróbujesz (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · fr il faut juger sur pièces (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · es en la cancha se ven los pingos (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · arz المَيَّه تكَدِّب الغَطَّاس (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · de die Praxis wird es zeigen (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · pt ao frigir dos ovos (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · hu a puding próbája az evés (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · nrf la preuve du podîn ch'est dé l'gouôter (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · cmn 百聞不如一見 /百闻不如一见 (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · es no sabes la calidad de algo hasta que lo has experimentado (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · es el algodón no engaña (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · ja 論より証拠 (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · fi käytäntö sen vasta osoittaa (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · ru не попробуешь, не узнаешь (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · az yeyərsən qaz ətini, görərsən ləzzətini (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · az yeməmisən qaz ətini, nə bilərsən ləzzətini? (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · nl de praktijk zal het leren (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · sv puddingen bevisas i ätandet (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for) · fr la qualité se révèle à l’usage (the only real test of something is as what it is intended to be used for)

wikipedia: William Camden