squeaky wheel gets the grease

1. The loudest complaints get the most attention, as in No matter what table they give her, Helen generally insists on a better one and gets it—the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The current version of this idiom, with its allusion to a wagon wheel that needs oiling, is ascribed to American humorist Josh Billings (1818–1885) in a poem, “The Kicker”: “I hate to be a kicker [complainer], I always long for peace, But the wheel that does the squeaking Is the one that gets the grease.” However, the idea of the idiom is much older. A manuscript from about 1400 had: “Ever the worst spoke of the cart creaks.” Similar sayings were repeated over the succeeding centuries.

Example Sentences

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” the person said, asking to remain anonymous because they didn’t want to jeopardize their stay by speaking to the media.

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If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, then nontenured faculty may be doomed.

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“My motto has always been the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I will always be loud and proud. I’ll never stop until this actually gets done.”

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They say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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“We need some loud advocates … the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

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