Meanings
- Even though something can be used well at the moment, it will eventually break down as everything does.
“The jug goes to the well until it breaks,” said Xandi. Brigitte frequently quoted the saying when confronted by her boys' obstinacy.
2015, Hermann Kauders, And God Created Bedbugs Too, →ISBN2 more examples
“The jug goes to the well until it breaks” – this may not be so terrible involving a jug – translated to the failure of a scaffolding assembly, it may, however, involve loss of life.
2009, Franz Knoll, Thomas Vogel, Design for Robustness, →ISBN, page 78It was not the mother herself, but good neighbor women who uncovered the danger. And as always in such cases: the jug goes to the well until it breaks! The court sentenced the man to two years in a penitentiary, five years loss of civic right, and expulsion from this country for ten years, although he had not previously been sentenced.
2013, Hubert Kennedy -, The Ideal Gay Man: The Story of Der Kreis, →ISBN, page 197Synonyms: the pitcher goes so often to the well that it is broken at last
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbEven though something can be used well at the moment, it will eventually break down as everything does.
Translations
Czech tak dlouho se chodí se džbánem pro vodu, až se ucho utrhne
- tak dlouho se chodí se džbánem pro vodu, až se ucho utrhnea jug goes to the well
French tant va la cruche à l'eau qu'à la fin elle se casse
- tant va la cruche à l'eau qu'à la fin elle se cassea jug goes to the well
German der Krug geht so lange zum Brunnen, bis er bricht
- der Krug geht so lange zum Brunnen, bis er brichta jug goes to the well
Polish póty dzban wodę nosi, póki się ucho nie urwie
- póty dzban wodę nosi, póki się ucho nie urwiea jug goes to the well
Russian пова́дился кувши́н по́ воду ходи́ть, тут ему́ и го́лову сломи́ть, ско́лько верёвочке ни ви́ться, а концу́ быть
- пова́дился кувши́н по́ воду ходи́ть, тут ему́ и го́лову сломи́ть (povádilsja kuvšín pó vodu xodítʹ, tut jemú i gólovu slomítʹ)a jug goes to the well
- ско́лько верёвочке ни ви́ться, а концу́ быть (skólʹko verjóvočke ni vítʹsja, a koncú bytʹ)a jug goes to the well
Cite this entry
the jug goes to the well until it breaks. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20jug%20goes%20to%20the%20well%20until%20it%20breaks
“the jug goes to the well until it breaks.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20jug%20goes%20to%20the%20well%20until%20it%20breaks. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the jug goes to the well until it breaks,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20jug%20goes%20to%20the%20well%20until%20it%20breaks.
Source: the jug goes to the well until it breaks on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.