It never rains but it pours means that when problems start, more follow straight away. Literally: there's never just rain, there's always a downpour. But here has an old meaning, roughly “without also”, rather than its usual meaning: it never rains without pouring. People say it with irritation or a wry smile after listing several bad things in a row.
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it never rains but it pours (UK); when it rains, it pours (US); used after a list of problems
- My car broke down, and then the boiler stopped working. It never rains but it pours.
- First the printer died, then the client moved the deadline forward — it never rains but it pours.
What changed
First versionFirst my phone broke, then I lost my keys — trouble never comes alone!
RevisionFirst my phone broke, then I lost my keys — it never rains but it pours!
Trouble never comes alone is a word-for-word version of a saying found in several languages. A native speaker will get the meaning, but it isn't a fixed English phrase. English expresses the same idea with rain and a downpour. Only the saying itself was replaced.
In American English the same idea is when it rains, it pours: My laptop crashed and then my phone died. When it rains, it pours. The meaning is the same, and here there's no but to puzzle over.
Your turn
First I missed the bus, then my phone died, and at work I found out my report had disappeared. Honestly, ___.
Show the answer
it never rains but it pours — The problems come one after another: the bus, the phone, the missing report. That's it never rains but it pours. It's raining cats and dogs is only said about real heavy rain, and there's no rain at all in this story.
Describe a day when everything went wrong. Name at least two bad things in a row and end with the proverb.
On Monday my alarm didn't go off and then my train was cancelled — it never rains but it pours.
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