Chi troppo vuole nulla stringe

Common Italian expression

Pronunciation
Literal translationHe who wants too much grasps nothing
English translationGrasp all, lose all
MeaningIf you want too much, you end up with nothing

Example

Mattia ha voluto tentare la fortuna per l’ennesima volta e ha perso tutto il jackpot. Chi troppo vuole nulla stringe!Mattia tried his luck for the nth time and lost the entire jackpot. Grasp all, lose all!

Where does this idiom come from?

It is thought that this proverb comes from Aesop’s fable The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs (it’s actually a hen in Italian, La gallina dalle uova d’oro!). In this tale, a farmer has a goose that lays one golden egg a day. Wanting to be rich quick, the farmer ends up killing the goose to open it up and get ahold of all the golden eggs in its belly. Problem is, there are none!

  • volere (to want)
  • stringere (to grasp, to hold tight)
  • chi (who)
  • troppo (too much)
  • nulla (nothing)
  • modal verbs

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