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even Homer nods

even Homer nods proverb: even the most vigilant and expert are fallible.

even homer nods: even the most vigilant and expert are fallible
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Proverb

even Homer nods

  1. Even the most vigilant and expert are fallible.
    • Horace acknowledges that honeſt Homer nods ſometimes: He is not equally awake in every Line: […]1677, John Dryden, “The Authors Apology for Heroique Poetry; and Poetique Licence”, in The State of Innocence, and Fall of Man: An Opera. Written in Heroique Verse, and Dedicated to Her Royal...
    • Thoſe are but Stratagems which Errors ſeem, / Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream.1709, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, London: Printed for W. Lewis in Russell-street, Covent-Garden; and sold by W. Taylor at the Ship in Pater-Noster-Row, T. Osborn in Grays-Inn near the...

even Homer nods meaning in Tamil and Thai

even Homer nods in Tamil

யானைக்கும் அடி சறுக்கும், எவ்வளவு பெரிய திறமைசாலியும் தவறிழைப்பார்

even Homer nods in Thai

no one is immune to error
สี่ตีนยังรู้พลาด นักปราชญ์ยังรู้พลั้ง sìi-dtiin-yang-rúu-plâat-nák-bpràat-yang-rúu-pláng

Forms of even Homer nods

alternative formeven Jove nods
alternative formeven Homer sometimes nods
alternative formHomer nods
alternative formHomer sometimes nods
alternative formJove nods

Origin of even Homer nods

From even + Homer + nods (“be momentarily inattentive or inaccurate”), alluding to line 359 of Horace’s Ars Poetica indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus (“I become annoyed when the great Homer is being drowsy”). The English translation Homer nods has become standard following Pope (1709), but is due to Dryden (1677).

Questions about even Homer nods

What does even Homer nods mean?
Even Homer nods means even the most vigilant and expert are fallible.
What is even Homer nods in Tamil?
Even Homer nods in Tamil is யானைக்கும் அடி சறுக்கும், எவ்வளவு பெரிய திறமைசாலியும் தவறிழைப்பார். See Even Homer nods meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is even Homer nods?
Even Homer nods is a proverb.

Words near even Homer nods in the dictionary

  1. even hand on the tiller
  2. even hands at the tiller
  3. even hands at the tillers
  4. even hands on the tiller
  5. even hands on the tillers
  6. even Homer nods
  7. even if
  8. even if one's life depended on it
  9. even Jove nods
  10. even keel
  11. even keels

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: even Homer nods (page history and authors); even Homer nods (Tamil Wiktionary) (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: en-au-even Homer nods.ogg.

Cite this entry: “even Homer nods.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/even_homer_nods. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.