"don't shoot the messenger" meaning in English

See don't shoot the messenger in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Audio: En-us-don't shoot the messenger.ogg , en-au-don't shoot the messenger.ogg
Head templates: {{en-proverb}} don't shoot the messenger
  1. (sarcastic or humorous) The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for it. Wikipedia link: shooting the messenger Tags: humorous, sarcastic Related terms: shoot the messenger, don't hate the player, hate the game Translations (the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news): nikdo nemá rád posly špatných zpráv (Czech), nestřílejte pianistu (Czech), nenadávej na zrcadlo když máš křivou hubu (Czech), geef niet de boodschapper de schuld (Dutch), schiet niet op de boodschapper (Dutch), schiet niet van de boodschapper (Dutch), älä ammu viestintuojaa (Finnish), ne tuez pas le messager (French), ne tirez pas sur le messager (French), ce n’est pas en cassant le thermomètre qu’on fait tomber la fièvre (French), ambasciator non porta pena (Italian), элчиге оьлюм ёкъ (elçige ölüm yoq) (Kumyk), qasid êrî û bêrî ye (Northern Kurdish), nie strzelaj do posłańca (Polish), горькие вести и гонцу не на ра́дость (gorʹkije vesti i goncu ne na rádostʹ) (Russian), по вестям и гонца встречают (po vestjam i gonca vstrečajut) (note: somewhat) (Russian), no disparen al mensajero (Spanish), no maten al mensajero (Spanish), skjut inte budbäraren (Swedish), elçiye zeval olmaz (Turkish)
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "don't shoot the messenger",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "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"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Polish links with redundant wikilinks",
          "parents": [
            "Links with redundant wikilinks",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Kumyk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Northern Kurdish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for it."
      ],
      "id": "en-don't_shoot_the_messenger-en-proverb-kWKwblPN",
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "humorous",
          "humorous"
        ],
        [
          "bearer of bad news",
          "bearer of bad news"
        ],
        [
          "accountable",
          "accountable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sarcastic or humorous) The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for it."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "shoot the messenger"
        },
        {
          "word": "don't hate the player, hate the game"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "sarcastic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "nikdo nemá rád posly špatných zpráv"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "nestřílejte pianistu"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "nenadávej na zrcadlo když máš křivou hubu"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "geef niet de boodschapper de schuld"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "schiet niet op de boodschapper"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "schiet niet van de boodschapper"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "älä ammu viestintuojaa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "ne tuez pas le messager"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "ne tirez pas sur le messager"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "ce n’est pas en cassant le thermomètre qu’on fait tomber la fièvre"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "ambasciator non porta pena"
        },
        {
          "code": "kum",
          "lang": "Kumyk",
          "roman": "elçige ölüm yoq",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "элчиге оьлюм ёкъ"
        },
        {
          "code": "kmr",
          "lang": "Northern Kurdish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "qasid êrî û bêrî ye"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "nie strzelaj do posłańca"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "gorʹkije vesti i goncu ne na rádostʹ",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "горькие вести и гонцу не на ра́дость"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "(somewhat) желанные вести — мил гоне́ц (želannyje vesti — mil gonéc)",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "somewhat",
          "roman": "po vestjam i gonca vstrečajut",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "по вестям и гонца встречают"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "no disparen al mensajero"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "no maten al mensajero"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "skjut inte budbäraren"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
          "word": "elçiye zeval olmaz"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "shooting the messenger"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-us-don't shoot the messenger.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f7/En-us-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg/En-us-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/En-us-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-don't shoot the messenger.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/09/En-au-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg/En-au-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/En-au-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "don't shoot the messenger"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "don't shoot the messenger",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "shoot the messenger"
    },
    {
      "word": "don't hate the player, hate the game"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English humorous terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs",
        "English sarcastic terms",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Polish links with redundant wikilinks",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Kumyk translations",
        "Terms with Northern Kurdish translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Turkish translations"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for it."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "humorous",
          "humorous"
        ],
        [
          "bearer of bad news",
          "bearer of bad news"
        ],
        [
          "accountable",
          "accountable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sarcastic or humorous) The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for it."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "sarcastic"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "shooting the messenger"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-us-don't shoot the messenger.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f7/En-us-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg/En-us-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/En-us-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-don't shoot the messenger.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/09/En-au-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg/En-au-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/En-au-don%27t_shoot_the_messenger.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "nikdo nemá rád posly špatných zpráv"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "nestřílejte pianistu"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "nenadávej na zrcadlo když máš křivou hubu"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "geef niet de boodschapper de schuld"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "schiet niet op de boodschapper"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "schiet niet van de boodschapper"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "älä ammu viestintuojaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "ne tuez pas le messager"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "ne tirez pas sur le messager"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "ce n’est pas en cassant le thermomètre qu’on fait tomber la fièvre"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "ambasciator non porta pena"
    },
    {
      "code": "kum",
      "lang": "Kumyk",
      "roman": "elçige ölüm yoq",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "элчиге оьлюм ёкъ"
    },
    {
      "code": "kmr",
      "lang": "Northern Kurdish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "qasid êrî û bêrî ye"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "nie strzelaj do posłańca"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "gorʹkije vesti i goncu ne na rádostʹ",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "горькие вести и гонцу не на ра́дость"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "(somewhat) желанные вести — мил гоне́ц (želannyje vesti — mil gonéc)",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "somewhat",
      "roman": "po vestjam i gonca vstrečajut",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "по вестям и гонца встречают"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "no disparen al mensajero"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "no maten al mensajero"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "skjut inte budbäraren"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news",
      "word": "elçiye zeval olmaz"
    }
  ],
  "word": "don't shoot the messenger"
}

Download raw JSONL data for don't shoot the messenger meaning in English (5.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). 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.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.