Buridan's Ass
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A man of indecision; like one "on double business bound, who stands in pause where he should first begin, and both neglects." Buridan was a French scholastic philosopher who died about 1360.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Buridan's Ass” mean?
A man of indecision; like one "on double business bound, who stands in pause where he should first begin, and both neglects." Buridan was a French scholastic philosopher who died about 1360.
Is “Buridan's Ass” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.