a bad workman always blames his tools
a bad workman always blames his tools proverb: it is not the tools we use that make us good, but rather how we employ them.
Proverb
a bad workman always blames his tools
- It is not the tools we use that make us good, but rather how we employ them.
- Never had ill workman good tools.1881, John Wurtle Lovell, “Jacula Prudentum”, in The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse, New York, page 440
- An ill labourer quarrels with his tools.1881, John Wurtle Lovell, “Jacula Prudentum”, in The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse, New York, page 454
- Upon failure, it is easier to blame the tools used rather than how they were employed.
a bad workman always blames his tools meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
a bad workman always blames his tools in Hindi
- not the tools but how they're employed
- नाच न जाने आँगन टेढ़ा nāc na jāne āṅgan ṭeṛhā
a bad workman always blames his tools in Marathi
- not the tools but how they're employed
- नाचता येइना अंगण वाकडे nāctā yeinā aṅgaṇ vākḍe
a bad workman always blames his tools in Urdu
- not the tools but how they're employed
- ناچ نہ جانے آنگن ٹیڑھا nāc na jāne ā̃gan ṭeṛhā
a bad workman always blames his tools in Bengali
- not the tools but how they're employed
- নাচতে না জানলে উঠান বাঁকা nacote na janle uṭhan bãka
More languagesFewer languages
- a bad workman always blames his tools in Nepali
- नाच्न नजान्ने आँगन टेडो nācna najānne ā̃gan ṭeḍo
- a bad workman always blames his tools in Malay
- tak tahu menari dikatakan lantai jongkang-jongket, tak tahu menari dikatakan tanah tinggi rendah, tak tahu menganyam pandan disalahkan
- a bad workman always blames his tools in Indonesian
- buruk muka cermin dibelah
- a bad workman always blames his tools in Persian
- پهلوان که باخت میگه نیرو من تنگ بود
- a bad workman always blames his tools in Thai
- รำไม่ดีโทษปี่โทษกลอง ram-mâi-dii-tôot-bpìi-tôot-glɔɔng
- a bad workman always blames his tools in Vietnamese
- vụng múa chê đất lệch
Forms of a bad workman always blames his tools
| alternative form | a bad workman blames his tools |
|---|---|
| alternative form | a bad carpenter blames his tools |
| alternative form | a poor workman blames his tools |
| alternative form | it is a poor craftsman who blames their tools |
| alternative form | a good workman never blames his tools |
Questions about a bad workman always blames his tools
- What does a bad workman always blames his tools mean?
- A bad workman always blames his tools means it is not the tools we use that make us good, but rather how we employ them.
- What is a bad workman always blames his tools in Hindi?
- A bad workman always blames his tools in Hindi is नाच न जाने आँगन टेढ़ा (nāc na jāne āṅgan ṭeṛhā). See A bad workman always blames his tools meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is a bad workman always blames his tools?
- A bad workman always blames his tools is a proverb.
Words near a bad workman always blames his tools in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: a bad workman always blames his tools (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-a bad workman always blames his tools.wav.
Cite this entry: “a bad workman always blames his tools.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/a_bad_workman_always_blames_his_tools. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.