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shy bairns get nowt

proverb
/ʃaɪ bɛənz ɡɛt naʊt/UK/ʃaɪ bɛːnz ɡɛʔ naʊʔ/

Etymology

Literally “shy children get nothing”, a reference to the shyness of children when making requests.

Definitions

  1. If you're too shy, or don't ask, you will not get what you want.

    • A' forgot te ask 'er fo' me money back! Wye, shy bairns get nowt.
    • Aye, Mary, we heard you. How could we not? Ah well, shy bairns get nowt. Will we let her at the microphone and give me a bit peace?
    • Ask questions, enquire, and push for more information and care. As the saying goes in the north-east, ‘shy bairns get nowt’! Know your rights and what you are entitled to by pushing and not taking no for an answer.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for shy bairns get nowt. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA