the squeaky wheel gets the grease

English

Alternative forms

• the squeaky wheel gets the oil

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Proverb

the squeaky wheel gets the grease

1. The person who complains or speaks up most loudly receives the redress or attention which they seek.
   • 1979, James Taylor (lyrics and music), “Shower the People”, in In the Pocket, →OCLC:

     I think it's true what they say about the squeaky wheel / Always getting the grease

   • 1995, Roger Zelazny, Robert Sheckley, A Farce To Be Reckoned With, Bantam, →ISBN, page 13:

     You know perfectly well that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and that if you don't complain nothing ever changes.

Derived terms

• squeaky wheel system

Related terms

• squeaky wheel

Translations

the person who complains most receives the attention

• Danish: som man spørger får man svar
• Finnish: kitisemällä saa haluamansa
• French: ceux qui parlent le plus fort ont toute l’attention
• Galician: quen non chora non mama (literally “he one who does not cry does not breastfeed”)
• Hebrew: הגלגל החורק הוא זה שזוכה לשימון, מי שצועק מקבל
• Hungarian: néma gyereknek az anyja sem érti a szavát (literally “a mute child, even their mother doesn't understand them”)
• Maori: me whāngai anō te mōkai kākā e ngete ai (literally “the pet parrot that is squawking must be fed again”)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: som man roper i skogen får man svar

• Portuguese: quem não chora, não mama
• Spanish: al que no habla Dios no lo oye (literally “God can't hear that who doesn't speak”), quien no llora, no mama (literally “he who doesn't weep, doesn't breastfeed”)
• Turkish: ağlamayana meme yok

See also

• the nail that sticks out gets hammered down
• empty vessels make the most sound
• vocal minority