Idiom
the nail that sticks out gets hammered down
Meaning
Those who are too different or conspicuous get criticized or sanctioned by others.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Don't be too loud, or the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
“In this strict office, you should follow the rules because the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
“He refused to conform to the company culture, eventually learning the hard way that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down by management.”
Examples
simple
“Don't be too loud, or the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
contextual
“In this strict office, you should follow the rules because the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
complex
“He refused to conform to the company culture, eventually learning the hard way that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down by management.”
Origin
The expression is a calque of the Japanese 出る釘は打たれる (deru kugi wa utareru). It entered English as a direct translation of the Japanese proverb regarding the social consequences of non-conformity.
Key words
Related idioms
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