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Even a worm will turn

Idiom

"The Worm That Turned" – illustration by E. V. Campbell for a satirical poem published in 1883

"Even a worm will turn" is an English language expression used to convey the message that even the meekest or most docile of creatures will retaliate or seek revenge if pushed too far. The phrase was first recorded in a 1546 collection of proverbs by John Heywood, in the form "Treade a worme on the tayle, and it must turne agayne." At the time “agayne” also meant “against” or “oppose”. It was used in William Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part 3 (Act 2, Scene 2). In the play, the phrase is uttered by Lord Clifford, killer of Rutland as: Not to the beast that would usurp their den. The smallest worm will turn being trodden on, And doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.}}

It's been proposed{{cite book|last=Shakespeare|first=William|date=1910 that this passage from Henry VI was suggested by one in a history by Edward Halle. In that book the Earl of Warwick makes a speech that includes the passage:

In 1641, the following passage in a letter from Edmund Verney to his son Ralph Verney further confirms the proverb's meaning that small affronts can lead to rebellion.{{cite book|last1=Verney|first1=Frances Parthenope|last2=Verney|first2=Margaret Maria|date=1904 The proverb is also found in other countries.

France

In 1694 the 1st edition of the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française included the proverb with an explanation: pour dire, qu’Il n’est point d’homme si foible & si chetif, qu’il n’ait quelque ressentiment quand on l’offense.}}

In English (per Google translate 2025) "An earthworm shrivels up when you step on it,' [that is] to say that there is no man so weak and puny that he does not feel some resentment when he is offended." However in 1694 se rebe(c)quer implied more rebel than shrivel.

Earlier in 1592{{cite book the proverb appeared in the poem Plainte de l’Autheur durant une sienne longue maladie by Philippes Des Portes. The verse with a translation is shown below:

French	English
Le ver avorton de la terre	The worm castling of the earth*
Se rebecque alors qu’on le serre,	Resists when [op]pressed
Poussé d’un naturel devoir:	It is an instinctive reflex:
Et moy pourtraict de ton image,	Now picture me in your place,
Quand ton pié me foule & m’outrage	When your foot steps on me & offends me
N’oserois-je un peu m’esmouvoir?	Would I not dare to stir a little?

Germany

In German the expression is: Auch der Wurm krümmt sich, wenn er getreten wird. . In 1782, in his dictionary of German proverbs, Joachim Blum gave the meaning as:{{poemquote|The writhing, twisting, screaming of the worm or animal in general can be partly an expression of the pain it feels and partly of its inability to resist the insult to which it must submit. The poor, defenseless person is oppressed only so long, until he, in his pain, resists the abuse. The trampled worm writhes; shouldn't a man do much more ? Should he feel oppressed and not speak out?}} The earliest surviving record in German is from 1541 in a book of proverbs by Sebastian Franck .{{cite book|author=Sebastian Franck|date=1541|title=Sprichwörter / Schone / Weise / Herzliche Clugreden / unnd Hoffsprüch Franck recorded three versions of the proverb and listed them under Latin sayings expressing similar ideas.

German	Latin	Latin to English
	Wan man ein wurm lang trit / so krümpt er sich.	Furor fit laesa saepius patientia.
	Wan man ein wurm trit / so krumpt er sich.	Inest & formicae bilis.
	Man trit ein wurm so lang / bis er sich krümt	(Latin indecipherable)

German writers who used the expression include Goethe, Schopenhauer{{Citation | quote =You will have seen the poisonous review of [Parerga and Paralipomena] in the January [10 edition of the] Literarisches Centralblatt [für Deutschland]: it is certainly from a lecturer: well, the worm writhes when it is trodden on.|title=Letter to Julius Frauenstädt|date=11 March 1852

References

Knowles, Elizabeth. "worm". Oxford University Press.
(2015). "The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs". Oxford University Press.
(1901). "Gilbert of the Haye's prose manuscript (A.D. 1456)".
Martin, Gary. "The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on". phrases.org.uk.
(17 July 1997). "The Mavens' Word of the Day: worm has turned". [[Random House]].
"The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on". english-for-students.com.
Halle, Edward. (1548). "The union of the two noble and illustre famelies of Lancastre and Yorke".
https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A1V0052
https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A1B0105-08
[[Willy Brandt]]. "Speech by the Mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, before the German Bundestag, 18 August 1961".
Langenscheidt, Handwörterbuch Englisch, 2005, page 684
Joachim Christian Blum. (1782). "Deutsches Sprichwörterbuch".
ibid page 115/768
ibid page 120/768
ibid. page 638/768
Goethe. (1810). "Zur Farbenlehre".

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