don't give up your day job
Somewhat sarcastic but usually good-natured advice used to criticise a person's degree of talent (especially in music or other performing arts), implying that they are unlikely to be successful.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Your singing is okay, but don't give up your day job.”
“You are a terrible cook, so please don't give up your day job.”
“He is a bad actor who really should not give up his day job.”
“After hearing his brother's terrible jokes, he laughed and told him not to give up his day job.”
“My friend tried to fix his own car but ended up making the engine noise worse, so I told him not to give up his day job.”
“She showed me the messy painting she made over the weekend and joked that she definitely shouldn't give up her day job yet.”
“The judge told the nervous contestant that while her performance was enthusiastic, she definitely shouldn't give up her day job to pursue a career in professional dance.”
disputed origin
20th-century show-business put-down: advice to an aspiring performer that they're not good enough to quit their regular employment.
- 01
a cold day in July
The time of occurrence of an event that will never happen.
- 02
a day late and a dollar short
Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.
- 03
a year and a day
A long time.
- 04
all one's born days
One's whole life.
- 05
and I don't mean maybe
Indicating that one is serious and not joking about a matter.
- 06
as the day is long
Unceasingly; very; thoroughly; to a very high degree.
- 07
bad hair day
A day when things seem to be unmanageable or go wrong.
- 08
bad old days
The past, seen as a time when things were worse.
Last updated August 10, 2026