Time settles all accounts — patience is the greatest debt collector. Everything eventually balances out, whether in business, relationships, or justice.
Milan has always been a city of accounts. From the medieval money-changers of the Broletto to the modern banks of Piazza Cordusio, the Lombard mind thinks in ledgers. This proverb reflects that mercantile sensibility: time is not merely a passage but an accounting process. Debts of kindness and cruelty both find their settlement eventually. The proverb was widely used among merchants who had been cheated — a counsel of patience rather than vengeance, with the assurance that the ledger would be balanced. In the fog-wrapped winters of the Po Valley, when the pace of life slowed and grudges could fester, elders would invoke it to prevent rash retaliation. It also carries a gentler meaning: that good work done honestly will eventually be recognised, even if the recognition is slow.
Milanese dialect proverb rooted in the city's long tradition of commerce and accounting. Equivalent to the Italian: Il tempo è galantuomo.
A businessman cheated by a partner
— Quel mascalzone mi ha fregato. Cosa faccio? — Niente. El temp el se mett a cunt. Vedrai che si sistemerà da solo.
— That scoundrel cheated me. What do I do? — Nothing. Time settles all accounts. You will see it will sort itself out.
An artisan whose work went unrecognised
Per anni nessuno apprezzava i miei mobili. El temp el se mett a cunt — adesso ho una lista d'attesa di sei mesi.
For years nobody appreciated my furniture. Time settles all accounts — now I have a six-month waiting list.
Grandmother advising a grandchild
— Quella compagna mi ha rubato il ragazzo. — El temp el se mett a cunt, cara. Questi conti si pagano sempre.
— That classmate stole my boyfriend. — Time settles all accounts, dear. These debts are always paid.
Two retired factory workers from Sesto San Giovanni
Il padrone ci sfruttava, ma el temp el se mett a cunt. L'azienda è fallita e lui ha perso tutto.
The owner exploited us, but time settles all accounts. The company went bankrupt and he lost everything.