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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Crossing the River
by Carol Smith
A powerful exploration of grief that combines memoir, reportage, and lessons in how to heal.
A Theater for Dreamers
by Polly Samson
A spellbinding tour-de-force about the beauty between naïveté and cruelty, artist and muse.
He who opens a door, closes a prison
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