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This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
Mar 19, 2014 06:24
10 yrs ago
4 viewers *
English term

look high and fall low

English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
What does the expression "look high and fall low" mean in English? I find many lists of proverbs online that include it but which do not explain what it means. Is it a commonly used English proverb or saying? Do you know of a resource that actually says what it means?
Responses
3 +2 someone who flies high, will land low.
4 +1 If yo set your ambitions too high, you will fall further backwards in life
5 The higher the climb, the deeper the fall
3 +2 pride comes before a fall
3 Translated Italian proverb
Change log

Mar 19, 2014 09:43: B D Finch changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): P.L.F. Persio, BrigitteHilgner, B D Finch

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Discussion

AllegroTrans Mar 21, 2014:
@ juvera You may well be right there; as far as I can see, this is from an Italian proverb so it might be more profitable to research it a susch. Asker maybe should repost as an Italian monolingual question.
juvera Mar 20, 2014:
More of an advice than a warning! Try to aim high in your achievements and if you fall, make sure it's not too far down.
Nothing to do with the stern warnings of the other explanations.
Arabic & More Mar 19, 2014:
I don't want to agree with any specific answer since I am not completely sure about the meaning of this proverb. Assuming, however, that the options presented are mostly correct, I personally like the suggestion offered by Phoenix. The only thing is that I would have worded it as follows:

The higher the climb, the harder the fall.

I also like Trudy's suggestion:

Pride comes before a fall.
P.L.F. Persio Mar 19, 2014:
Samuel, maybe you found this list: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sm96Wlt8Ql0C&pg=PT220&lpg...
It looks like DLyons is right.
I voted PRO because the answer is not that straightforward.

Responses

+2
1 hr

someone who flies high, will land low.

Fuller's Gnomologia is given as the first English citation (with a variant "look high and light low"). Strauss, Dictionary of European Proverbs puts in a section which seems to warn against pride.

Routledge gives it as of Italian origin. It's not obvious what that is, but maybe "Si deve mirare in alto per non cadere troppo in basso" (You have to aim high in order not to fall too low). That's a different meaning though.

Peer comment(s):
agree P.L.F. Persio : yes, the 2 proverbs carry a different meaning, but I think you're right in that it's a warning against pride.
46 mins
Thanks missdutch.
agree AllegroTrans : Jeremiah 50:32?
3 hrs
Thanks AllegoTrans. L’arrogante vacillerà, cadrà, e non vi sarà chi lo rialzi; e io appiccherò il fuoco alle sue città, ed esso divorerà tutti i suoi dintorni?
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+1
2 hrs

If yo set your ambitions too high, you will fall further backwards in life

This may be a good way to explain this. The moral the proverb is suggesting is to remain within your own limits of what you can achieve, or where you can go, in whatever situation you may be attempting to get through/win over etc.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2014-03-19 08:32:30 GMT)
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TYPE:

Answer should read "If YOU set your ambitions too high..."
Peer comment(s):
agree Alexandranow
2 hrs
Multumesc!
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2 hrs

Translated Italian proverb

I am not aware of such an idiom being widely used in English, the nearest (and common) one being "look high and low" - to search thoroughly. But researching this on the internet suggest this is an Italian saying with two distinct meanings, one being along the lines of the English "shoot for the moon" (and reach the top of the tree), a saying with a distinctive pedigree:

"Il più grande pericolo per noi non è che miriamo troppo in alto e non riusciamo a raggiungere il nostro obiettivo ma che miriamo troppo in basso e lo raggiungiamo."

"The greatest danger to most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."
--Michelangelo Buonarroti

However, there is a similar sounding Italian saying, which is less obscure to intepret, on this page

http://goo.gl/KmX6Ym

"Those who gaze at the heights, fall"

Take your pick :)
Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : "look high and low" and "shoot for the moon" do not work here - this is about pride and arrogance and the results
4 hrs
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5 hrs

The higher the climb, the deeper the fall

There's a saying in Spanish regarding arrogance which goes something like what I've quoted: El hombre es como el coco. Entre más alto, más duro cae.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Lara Barnett : You should say "the FURTHER you fall ..." in this case.
5 mins
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+2
9 hrs

pride comes before a fall

Reference:

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pride_comes_before_a_fall

Peer comment(s):
agree AllegroTrans : this also encapsulates the meaning
19 hrs
agree katsy
3 days 20 hrs
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