old sins have long shadows

proverb

Past misdeeds are liable to return to haunt a person.

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Meanings

proverb

alternative old sins cast long shadows

  1. Past misdeeds are liable to return to haunt a person.

    "'Old sins have long shadows,'" he went on musingly. "And this shadow of Bou Smain may yet engulf you if I am not quick.

    1929, Camilla Hope, Long Shadows, page 253
    2 more examples

    “But if it doesn't exist how can it matter?” asked Nichol. “Old file, old company, old news.” “Old sins have long shadows,” said Gamache. “And this is an old sin.”

    2013, Louise Penny, How The Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery, →ISBN

    Lucinda was happy and deeply in love, but ‘old sins have long shadows’, and on the very night of her engagement party the dark, dangerous shadow of her past confronted her.

    2014, Denise Robins, Reputation, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

old sins have long shadows. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20sins%20have%20long%20shadows

MLA

“old sins have long shadows.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20sins%20have%20long%20shadows. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “old sins have long shadows,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20sins%20have%20long%20shadows.

Source: old sins have long shadows on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.