Often those closest to a person don't benefit from the person's expertise
The earliest recording of this proverb is in John Heywood's 1546 book of proverbs.
A similar sentiment is found in Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621: "Him that makes shoes go barefoot himself".
Other variants include "the shoemaker's son always goes barefoot" and "the cobbler's children go barefoot." Children or child is sometimes replaced with the more colloquial kids.
Alphabetical list of expressions
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Blind Man's Bluff
by James Tate Hill
A writer's humorous and often-heartbreaking tale of losing his sight—and how he hid it from the world.
Never Saw Me Coming
by Vera Kurian
"Fun, entertaining and hard to put down."
—The New York Journal of Books
Happiness belongs to the self sufficient
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
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