Meanings
- A person who does not plan ahead and think matters through becomes involved in risky or unfavorable situations which prudent people avoid.
The year following my graduation the new Captain of my Alma Mater's team asked me if I would aid him in developing the squad for next year. Well, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," so I said Yes.
1921, William T. Tilden, The Art of Lawn Tennis2 more examples
“It's the first article of your creed—that marriage is a holy sacrament, that no power on earth or in hell can ever dissolve its bonds? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, my dear! They always have—they always will, I suppose.
1915, Thomas Dixon, The Foolish VirginThen, too, a record of failures—particularly if it is a dignified and well-authenticated record—deters a young man from trying. We get some of our best results from letting fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
1922, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther, chapter 5, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., →OCLCSynonyms: look before you leap · Antonyms: he who hesitates is lost
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbA person who does not plan ahead and think matters through becomes involved in risky or unfavorable situations which prudent people avoid.
Origin
From An Essay on Criticism (1711) by Alexander Pope.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
fools rush in where angels fear to tread. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fools%20rush%20in%20where%20angels%20fear%20to%20tread
“fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fools%20rush%20in%20where%20angels%20fear%20to%20tread. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fools%20rush%20in%20where%20angels%20fear%20to%20tread.
Source: fools rush in where angels fear to tread on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.