a false friend and a shadow stay only while the sun shines

a false friend and a shadow stay only while the sun shines

proverb Someone who is insincere or duplicitous will vanish in times of difficulty. I thought he was a real friend, that he would support me through thick and thin. I guess it's really true—a false friend and a shadow stay only while the sun shines. She was surrounded during the height of her fame by people who were eager to hang on her coattails. But false friends and shadows stay only while the sun shines, and when she lost everything, all those hangers-on deserted her. I know all too well that a false friend and a shadow stay only while the sun shines—friends were hard to come by when I was dealing with my legal troubles.

See also: and, false, friend, shadow, shine, stay, sun, while

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.