if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

Idioms & Phrases

if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

If the pressure or stress is too great, leave or give up. For example, It'll take a lot of weekend overtime to finish, so if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. This folksy adage has been ascribed to President Harry S. Truman, who certainly said it and may have originated it. [c. 1950]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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