Idioms

teach a man to fish

Also found in: Acronyms.

teach a man to fish

proverb Teaching someone how to do something is more helpful to them in the long run than just doing it for them. The full proverb is "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." A: "I don't want to teach Billy how to drive!" B: "Well, I know you're sick of driving him around, and this is a solution. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!" I'm trying to show my grandfather how to use his new computer, so that he won't call me with questions every time he tries to use it—teach a man to fish and all that.
See also: fish, man, teach, to
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
GIVE A MAN A FISH AND HE WILL EAT dinner that night, but teach a man to fish and he will be able to feed himself forever.
A dance educator of a different stripe. (The Teach--Learn Connection)
Run by the international development charity Teach A Man To Fish and sponsored by Educating Africa, the competition has a top prize of $10,000, two runner-ups of $5,000, and awards $1,000 to the best entrant from every country in Africa.
Teach A Man To Fish, a UK-based charity, started the competition to showcase the innovative educational organisations in Africa that are successfully addressing educational challenges.
Competition awards innovative approaches to education
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