English · Proverb Candidate

the squeaky wheel gets the oil

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Those who complain or speak up are more likely to get attention or help

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Những người than thở hoặc lên tiếng thường nhận được chú ý hoặc giúp đỡ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: a squeaky wheel on a cart being lubricated

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Sources & notes

Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” mean?

Those who complain or speak up are more likely to get attention or help Literally: a squeaky wheel on a cart being lubricated

Is “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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