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
Challenge yourself with BookBrowse Wordplays
An audacious American epic set in rural Georgia during the years of the Depression and Prohibition.
About the book
The Family Tabor
by Cherise Wolas
Wolas's gorgeously rendered sophomore novel reckons with the nature of the stories we tell ourselves.
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The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams
An electrifying postwar fable of love, class, power and redemption set on an island off the New England coast.
Reader Reviews
A Place For Us
A deeply moving story of love, identity and belonging--the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint.
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