1546 J. HEYWOOD Dialogue of Proverbs II. ii. F4V But there is no foole to the olde
foole, folke saie. 1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 256 No fool to an old Fool. Spoken
when Men of advanc’d Age behave themselves, or talk youthfully, or wantonly. 1732 T.
FULLER Gnomologia no. 3570 No Fool like the old Fool. 1814 SCOTT Waverley III. xv.
And troth he might hae ta’en warning, but there’s nae fule like an ould fule. 1910 R.
KIPLING Rewards & Fairies 257 ‘There are those who have years without knowledge.’
‘Right,’ said Puck. ‘No fool like an old fool.’ 2001 Washington Post 8 July B5 But these
fantasies are more proper to a young person; beyond the age of, say, 50, they become the
fantasy of that fool like whom we are told there is no other, the old fool. old age;
stupidityA FOOL may give a wise man counsel
a 1350 Ywain & Gawain (EETS) 1.1477 Bot yit a fole that litel kan [knows], May
wele cownsail another man. 1641 D. FERGUSSON Scottish Proverbs (STS) no. 84 A Fool
may give a wyse man a counsell. 1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 25 A Fool may give a
wise Man counsel by a time. An Apology of those who offer their Advice to them, who
may be supposed to excel them in Parts and Sense. 1818 SCOTT Heart of Midlothian IV.
viii. If a fule may gie a wise man a counsel, I wad hae him think twice or [before] he
mells [meddles] wi’ Knockdunder. 1942 E. P. OPPENHEIM Man who changed Plea xvii.
Aren’t we all fools.. in one or two things?.. Even a fool, though, can sometimes give good
advice. advice; foolsFOOL me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
Earlier, and still current, with the verb deceive.
1611 Tarlton’s Jests (1844) 11 For Who deceives me once, God forgive him; if
twice, God forgive him; but if thrice, God forgive him, but not me, because I could not
beware. 1650 A. WELLDON Secret History of King James I (1690) 88 The Italians
having a Proverb, He that deceives me Once, it’s his Fault; but Twice it is my fault. 1659
N. R. Proverbs English, French, Dutch, Italian & Spanish 54 He that deceives me once, it
is his faul[t]; if twice, it is mine. 1980 Forbes 17 Mar. 69 The important thing in dealing
with the Japanese is not to believe everything you hear. Or, as the saying goes: Fool me
once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. 2001 Washington Times 3 Oct. A17
You know the old saying, ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.’
How does that apply in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 act of war against our country? 2002
P. LOVESEY Diamond Dust xxx. 297 ‘Did you give him any?’ ‘No. I wouldn’t be so daft.
You know that old saying? He that deceives me once, shame fall him; if he deceives me
twice, shame fall me.’ deception