it's safer to commend the dead than the living
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
It's less risky to praise someone who has passed away than someone who is still alive
Examples
The eulogy was generous, reminding us that it's safer to commend the dead than the living
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “it's safer to commend the dead than the living” mean?
It's less risky to praise someone who has passed away than someone who is still alive
Is “it's safer to commend the dead than the living” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.