you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Kindness is more effective than harshness in achieving goals
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Tình yêu thương hiệu quả hơn sự thô bạo trong việc đạt được mục tiêu
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: attracting flies with sweet or sour substances
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 “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” mean?
Kindness is more effective than harshness in achieving goals Literally: attracting flies with sweet or sour substances
Is “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.