the boughs that bear most hang lowest
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Those who have the most to lose are often the most humble
Literally: tree branches with most fruit hang lowest
Examples
The billionaire philanthropist lived modestly, proving that the boughs that bear most hang lowest
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 “the boughs that bear most hang lowest” mean?
Those who have the most to lose are often the most humble Literally: tree branches with most fruit hang lowest
Is “the boughs that bear most hang lowest” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.