CRAFT brings nothing home

Meaning & Analysis

The use of cunning, deceit, or trickery as a strategy will ultimately yield no real or lasting reward.

Insights

The Futility of Deception

The proverb argues that any success built on a foundation of deception is illusory and unsustainable. 'Home' symbolizes security and lasting value, which cannot be achieved through dishonest means.

Self-Defeating Cunning

It suggests that excessive cleverness and scheming are self-defeating. A reputation for being 'crafty' erodes trust and social cooperation, isolating the individual and ensuring their eventual failure.

The Unprofitability of Dishonesty

The proverb serves as a moral and practical assertion that integrity is more profitable than dishonesty in the long run. It posits that unethical methods are fundamentally flawed and destined to fail.

Honest Labor vs. Deceit

The proverb plays on the dual meaning of 'craft'—skill versus cunning. While honest craftsmanship (a trade) is a reliable way to 'bring something home', the proverb warns that the deceitful version of craft is ultimately unproductive, contrasting the value of legitimate labor with the emptiness of dishonest schemes.

Reputation and Social Trust

In historical communities where reputation was paramount for economic survival, being known for 'craft' or deceit would lead to social and economic ostracism. The proverb reflects the practical necessity of integrity for long-term prosperity.

The Trickster's Folly

The proverb reflects a common narrative archetype found in folklore and literature, where the cunning trickster's elaborate schemes ultimately lead to their own downfall. It serves as a concise moral summary of countless cautionary tales.

Psychological Cost of Deceit

The proverb highlights the psychological burden of deceit. The mental energy, anxiety, and isolation required to maintain elaborate deceptions ensure that even if material gains are made, the net result is a loss of peace and well-being, thus 'bringing nothing home'.

Rhetorical Devices

Metaphor

The proverb uses the common idiom 'brings nothing home' as a metaphor for ultimate failure, where 'home' represents security, stability, and genuine success.

Personification

The abstract concept of 'Craft' is treated as an active agent that fails to achieve a goal, making the warning more direct and memorable.

Negative Absolutism

The stark, absolute certainty of the statement ('brings *nothing* home') leaves no room for debate, giving the proverb a powerful, cautionary force.

deceptionfutilityintegrityconsequencetrustfailure

Analyzed with gemini-2.5-pro on July 28, 2025

Transcription

Quotations

— 1616, DR., no. 401

— 1664, COD., p. 188

— 1670, RAY, p. 6

Craft counting all things, brings nothing home.

— 1732, FUL., no. 1199

Cross References

Related Proverbs

M978 You will never be mad (married), you are of so many MINDS 83.7%P492 As good trust to a rotten POST 83.5%C95 A CARPER can cavil at anything 83.5%C799 CRAFT is bastard policy 83.5%F418 Dumb FOLKS get no lands 83.4%C885 Who is a CUCKOLD and conceals it carries coals in his bosom 83.2%N66 NECK or nothing, for the king loves no cripples 83.2%A403 A kindly AVER¹ will never make a good horse 83.1%C190 It is ill CATCHING of fish when the hook is bare 82.9%R161 A ROGUE's wardrobe is harbor for a louse 82.6%H135 HAP and a halfpenny is world's gear enough 82.6%R116 He RIDES sure that never fell 82.6%L26 To turn one's back on the LADDER (cut down the stairs) by which one rose 82.6%C181 CATS eat what hussies spare (what the goodwife spares) 82.3%F783 He that holds a FRYING PAN by the tail may turn it which way he lists 82.3%W340 The rich WIDOW weeps with one eye and casts glances with the other 82.2%T154 To get by a THING, as Dickson did by his distress 82.2%G30 To stop two GAPs with one bush 82.2%A374 He is an ASS that brays against an ass 82.2%P402 To PLAY underboard 82.1%

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