those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it

proverb

People who dispute that a task is possible should not impede those people who attempt to do it.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. People who dispute that a task is possible should not impede those people who attempt to do it.

Origin

Possibly from a Chicago newspaper in 1903: “Things move along so rapidly nowadays that people saying: ‘It can’t be done,’ are always being interrupted by somebody doing it.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/world/asia/ivanka-trump-china-summit-korea.html

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/those%20who%20say%20it%20cannot%20be%20done%20should%20not%20interrupt%20those%20doing%20it

MLA

“those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/those%20who%20say%20it%20cannot%20be%20done%20should%20not%20interrupt%20those%20doing%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/those%20who%20say%20it%20cannot%20be%20done%20should%20not%20interrupt%20those%20doing%20it.

Source: those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.