faint heart never won fair lady

English

Alternative forms

• faint heart never won fair maiden

Proverb

faint heart never won fair lady

1. One must take risks in order to achieve a goal; success requires enterprise.

   Synonyms: God hates a coward; nothing ventured, nothing gained; fortune favors the bold; no pain, no gain

Translations

one must take risks in order to achieve a goal — see also no pain, no gain

• German: blödes Herz buhlt keine schöne Frau

See also

• shy bairns get nowt

Further reading

• “faint heart never won fair lady”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “faint heart never won fair lady”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.