Meanings
alternative you don't dip your pen in the company's ink · alternative you don't dip your pen in the company inkwell · alternative you don't dip your pen in the inkwell
- One should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace.
"In my job, young hot things have been coming up to me for years," says Fletcher, the retired pilot. "You don't dip your pen in company ink."
1998 September 28, Roxanne Roberts, “Men's Bad Rep: Just a Bad Rap?”, in Washington Post, retrieved 13 Dec 2008, page A11 more example
It wasn't money that attracted his current wife, Madeleine Deininger, who started working for Ravenswood in 1985. . . . "We had the policy that you don't dip your pen in company ink. We stayed good friends for a long time," Peterson says.
2006 July 27, W. Blake Gray, “Ravens to Riches”, in San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 13 Dec 2008Synonyms: don't shit where you eat, you don't fish off the company pier, you don't get your nookie where you get your cookies, don't get your honey where you make your money, don't get your meat where you get your bread, don't fish off the company dock
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbOne should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace.
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 喺度食唔好喺度痾 /喺度食唔好喺度疴
- 喺度食唔好喺度痾 /喺度食唔好喺度疴 (hai² dou⁶ sik⁶ m⁴ hou² hai² dou⁶ o¹)one should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Chinese Mandarin 兔子不吃窩邊草 /兔子不吃窝边草
- 兔子不吃窩邊草 /兔子不吃窝边草 (tùzi bù chī wō biān cǎo)one should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Finnish ei pidä syödä kuormasta
- ei pidä syödä kuormastaone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
French no zob in job
- no zob in jobone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
German Bürofick bringt Unglück
- Bürofick bringt Unglückone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Hungarian házinyúlra nem lövünk
- házinyúlra nem lövünkone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Polish nie miesza się spraw zawodowych z uczuciowymi
- nie miesza się spraw zawodowych z uczuciowymione should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Portuguese onde se ganha o pão, não se come a carne
- onde se ganha o pão, não se come a carneone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Spanish donde tengas la olla no metas la polla, donde se come no se caga
- donde tengas la olla no metas la pollaone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
- donde se come no se cagaone should avoid romantic or sexual relationships in the workplace
Cite this entry
you don't dip your pen in company ink. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20don't%20dip%20your%20pen%20in%20company%20ink
“you don't dip your pen in company ink.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20don't%20dip%20your%20pen%20in%20company%20ink. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “you don't dip your pen in company ink,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20don't%20dip%20your%20pen%20in%20company%20ink.
Source: you don't dip your pen in company ink on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.