the highest branch is not the safest roost

proverb

A coveted position of power does not guarantee safety to the holder.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. A coveted position of power does not guarantee safety to the holder.

    […] the highest branch is not the safest roost. So the danger to the Dogras' position also was now the greatest.

    1980, Manohar Lal Kapur, History of Jammu and Kashmir State: The making of the State, page 109
Cite this entry
APA

the highest branch is not the safest roost. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20highest%20branch%20is%20not%20the%20safest%20roost

MLA

“the highest branch is not the safest roost.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20highest%20branch%20is%20not%20the%20safest%20roost. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the highest branch is not the safest roost,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20highest%20branch%20is%20not%20the%20safest%20roost.

Source: the highest branch is not the safest roost on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.