Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

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Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

proverb You should be hesitant to trust someone who has already tricked or deceived you. Is Ralph just going to pop out from behind that door again? Come on, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. A: "Why did you get back together with her?" B: "Because I'm an idiot, apparently. Ugh, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." A: "I know this company's products break super easily, and yet I bought from them again." B: "Dude. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." A: "Exactly."
See also: fool, on, shame
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Prov. After being tricked once, one should be wary, so that the person cannot trick you again. Fred: Would you like a can of peanuts? Jane: The last can of peanuts you gave me had a toy snake in it. Fred: This one really is peanuts. Jane: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
See also: fool, on, shame
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Fool me twice, shame on me. I know who I won't be voting for this November.
Wall Street: The adage used to be: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Wall Street and impatient shareholders have rewritten it for CEOs, however, to read: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, enjoy your severance package.