If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen is a proverb, which is a short, common saying or phrase that gives advice or shares a universal truth. We will examine the meaning of this proverb, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen is an admonition which means if you can’t stand the stress, pressure or difficulties of a situation, then you should remove yourself. The unspoken idea here is that removing yourself from the situation makes room for someone else who is able to stand the pressure or difficulties to take control. The term if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen was popularized by U. S. President Harry Truman, who was in office from 1945-1953. Truman was a plain-spoken man who hailed from Missouri. He credited Judge Buck Purcell of the Jackson County, Missouri Court as the originator of the proverb. The phrase is often shortened to if you can’t stand the heat, the assumption is that the listener already knows the ending of the phrase. Many proverbs are rendered in this way, as they are so commonly known that the speaker only needs to invoke the first part of the phrase for the listener to understand the meaning.
Examples
He’ll either be impeached and convicted for an as yet undisclosed violation of ethics, or quit because he can’t stand the heat in the kitchen and knows deep down that he isn’t what America needs — not by a long shot. (The Rutland Herald)
My advice to you, Mayor McQueen, grow a thick skin, try to bridge the gaps and if you can’t stand the heat,get out of the kitchen! (The Corpus Christi Caller-Times)