Árinni kennir illur ræðari
an Icelandic equivalent of workers blaming their tools
// updated 2025-06-01 21:52
"Árinni kennir illur ræðari" in Icelandic translates most naturally to "bad workers blame their tools" but let's look at the literal translation:
- árinni = "to the oar"
- kennir = "blames"
- illur = "[a] bad""
- ræðari = "rower"
So, it actually translates to something like "a bad rower blames the oar" which neatly alludes to seafaring culture of the Icelanders! In both translations, we see variants of people blaming their inabilities on their instruments.
A neat activity would study the equivalent phrases of this in other languages!
- "Árinni kennir illur ræðari" on Wiktionary