I don’t suffer fools gladly!

You know what lovely readers, I happen to loathe the expression ‘I don’t suffer fools gladly’ don’t you? If you’re like me, you’ll want to read on, if you like to utter this statement yourself, you’ll also want to read on. It happened to pop up recently and, rather than poke the protagonist in the eye with a blunt instrument, I took a deep breath and asked for clarification. Let me tell you the story…

You see, I was recently coaching a candidate on his interviewing skills and had asked how he might answer that hairy old chestnut ‘what are your weaknesses?‘ A pause, followed by a triumphant ‘I don’t suffer fools gladly’. I asked him to define ‘fool’. ‘Someone who makes a stupid mistake, stuffs up, doesn’t listen to instructions, has no logic’. Hmmm…

Originally coined by Saint Paul in a letter to the people of Corinth, ‘For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise’, with contemporary usage, the focus is now on the negative, ‘not’ to suffer fools gladly. Interpreted by the Cambridge Idiom Dictionary: ‘to become angry with people you think are stupid’ The Oxford Dictionary: ‘To have very little patience with people who you think are stupid or have stupid ideas’. I asked my candidate a question…

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