Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbSynonym of you never miss the water till the well runs dry.
Origin
- Jamaican Creolecow neva know di use a 'im tail till 'im lose it
- Englishthe cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it
Calque of Jamaican Creole cow neva know di use a 'im tail till 'im lose it.
More words from Jamaican Creole
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20cow%20knows%20not%20the%20worth%20of%20its%20tail%20till%20it%20loses%20it
“the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20cow%20knows%20not%20the%20worth%20of%20its%20tail%20till%20it%20loses%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20cow%20knows%20not%20the%20worth%20of%20its%20tail%20till%20it%20loses%20it.
Source: the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.