Meaning

It never rains but it pours

The meaning of the phrase

When troubles come they come together.

Pronunciation
Truth is stranger than fiction
Truth is stranger than fiction

What’s the origin of the phrase ‘It never rains but it pours’?

A proverbial phrase. The origin is unknown but the phrase has been in use since the early 18th century; for example, this item from a work by John Arbuthnot, 1726:

It cannot rain but it pours; or London strow’d with rarities.

Examples of use

  • The boiler broke down, the weather turned freezing and Jack's got the flu. It never rains but it pours!

UsageWorldwide, but somewhat old-fashioned.

From the Phrase Finder idioms collection, written by Gary Martin.

Historical trend

“never rains but it pours” in printed material over time

Source: Google Books Ngrams (1800–2020).

180018201840186018801900192019401960198020002020
  • never rains but it pours

Sources

  1. John Arbuthnot (1726) · early 18th century use, work not named on the page