"discretion is the better part of valour" meaning in English

See discretion is the better part of valour in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Etymology: Alteration of "The better part of valour is discretion," spoken by Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Act V, Scene 4. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=discretion is the better part of valour}} discretion is the better part of valour
  1. It is often wise to refrain from seemingly brave speech or action. Synonyms: discretion is the better part of valor [US]
    Sense id: en-discretion_is_the_better_part_of_valour-en-proverb-xZfwX-qh Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for discretion is the better part of valour meaning in English (1.2kB)

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  "etymology_text": "Alteration of \"The better part of valour is discretion,\" spoken by Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Act V, Scene 4.",
  "head_templates": [
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        "2": "proverb",
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      "expansion": "discretion is the better part of valour",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 October, Chris Stokes, “Between the Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 97",
          "text": "At least there was no problem with Alison travelling on the 'wrong' train - discretion was the better part of valour for ticket checks [on a train full of football supporters].",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "It is often wise to refrain from seemingly brave speech or action."
      ],
      "id": "en-discretion_is_the_better_part_of_valour-en-proverb-xZfwX-qh",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "US"
          ],
          "word": "discretion is the better part of valor"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "discretion is the better part of valour"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Alteration of \"The better part of valour is discretion,\" spoken by Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Act V, Scene 4.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": "discretion is the better part of valour"
      },
      "expansion": "discretion is the better part of valour",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 October, Chris Stokes, “Between the Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 97",
          "text": "At least there was no problem with Alison travelling on the 'wrong' train - discretion was the better part of valour for ticket checks [on a train full of football supporters].",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "It is often wise to refrain from seemingly brave speech or action."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "word": "discretion is the better part of valor"
    }
  ],
  "word": "discretion is the better part of valour"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-24 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (82c8ff9 and f4967a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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