The proof is in the pudding

“The proof is in the pudding” is an English idiom. At first sight it doesn’t make much sense.

When a pudding has jam in it, it’s a jam pudding. When a pudding has steak and kidney in it, it’s a steak and kidney pudding. So when a pudding has proof in it, is it a proof pudding?

Things become a bit clearer when you know that the original saying was “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. We use it to mean that you can only judge the quality of something by trying or experiencing it.

Imagine a pudding being taken out of the oven. It looks delicious. But it might be too sweet, or not sweet enough. Perhaps the fruit inside the pudding is a bit off.  Or maybe it is cooked on the outside but under-cooked on the inside. You don’t know whether it really is delicious until you taste it. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Over time, the saying has been shortened to “the proof is in the eating”, or even to “the proof is in the pudding”. Some people say that this version is completely wrong but they’re fighting a losing battle. Language changes and it looks as if this change is here to stay – at least for a while.

Here are some examples of how we might use the idiom:

• They say he’s the best plumber in town. We’ll find out when he mends our pipes. The proof is the pudding.
• I really didn’t think I’d enjoy a holiday there, but I did. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
• She always promising that things will be better, but then she lets me down again. I can’t trust her any more – the proof is in the eating.
• I’m trying not to get too excited about this new job, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So we’ll soon find out.
• Nobody believed us when we said we’d be a highly successful business. Now I tell them that the proof is in the pudding – just look at our results over the past five years.

.

.

^{Posted by Graham}