Phrase guide

those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

People who dispute that a task is possible should not impede those people who attempt to do it.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Possibly from a Chicago newspaper in 1903: “Things move along so rapidly nowadays that people saying: ‘It can’t be done,’ are always being interrupted by somebody doing it.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/world/asia/ivanka-trump-china-summit-korea.html