suffer fools gladly

English

Alternative forms

Verb

suffer fools gladly

  1. (idiomatic) To be tolerant of stupidity or incompetence in other people.
    • 1611, King James Bible, 2 Corinthians 11:19
      For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
    • 1912, George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion
      He was, I believe, not in the least an ill-natured man: very much the opposite, I should say; but he would not suffer fools gladly.

Usage notes
  • Now usually used in the negative, to express what someone does not do.

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Anagrams
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