Meanings
Origin
First recorded in the epilogue to As You Like It by William Shakespeare: "If it be true, that good wine needs no bush, ’tis true, that a good play needes no Epilogue." Here, the term bush denotes a branch or bunch of ivy formerly hung as a vintner’s sign in front of a tavern.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech dobré zboží se chválí samo
- dobré zboží se chválí samosomething good does not need to be advertised
Dutch goede wijn behoeft geen krans
- goede wijn behoeft geen kranssomething good does not need to be advertised
Finnish hyvää ei tarvitse mainostaa
- hyvää ei tarvitse mainostaasomething good does not need to be advertised
French à bon vin point d'enseigne
- à bon vin point d'enseignesomething good does not need to be advertised
German gute Ware lobt sich selbst
- gute Ware lobt sich selbstsomething good does not need to be advertised
Hungarian jó bornak nem kell cégér
- jó bornak nem kell cégérsomething good does not need to be advertised
Polish dobry towar sam się chwali
- dobry towar sam się chwalisomething good does not need to be advertised
Russian хоро́ший това́р сам себя́ хва́лит
- хоро́ший това́р сам себя́ хва́лит (xoróšij továr sam sebjá xválit)something good does not need to be advertised
Spanish el buen paño, en el arca se vende
- el buen paño, en el arca se vendesomething good does not need to be advertised
Vietnamese hữu xạ tự nhiên hương
- hữu xạ tự nhiên hươngsomething good does not need to be advertised
Cite this entry
good wine needs no bush. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/good%20wine%20needs%20no%20bush
“good wine needs no bush.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/good%20wine%20needs%20no%20bush. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “good wine needs no bush,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/good%20wine%20needs%20no%20bush.
Source: good wine needs no bush on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.