Word.ws English Dictionary

spare the rod, spoil the child

spare the rod, spoil the child is the alternative form of spare the rod and spoil the child.

Meaning of spare the rod and spoil the child

Proverb

spare the rod and spoil the child

  1. If one does not discipline a child, they will never learn obedience and good manners.

Questions about spare the rod, spoil the child

What is spare the rod, spoil the child the alternative form of?
Spare the rod, spoil the child is the alternative form of spare the rod and spoil the child.

Words near spare the rod, spoil the child in the dictionary

  1. spare rooms
  2. spare someone the details
  3. spare someone's blushes
  4. spare the rod and spoil the child
  5. spare the rod and you will spoil the child
  6. spare the rod, spoil the child
  7. spare time
  8. spare tire
  9. spare tire well
  10. spare tire wells
  11. spare tires

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spare the rod, spoil the child (page history and authors); spare the rod and spoil the child (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.

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