What do people really mean by, "No good deed goes unpunished"?

Answer 1

Have you ever tried to free an animal from a trap? Often they nip you, and frequently they cannot get far enough away from you. It's an example of a good deed for which you get punished. We had an Attorney General in our state who loved this phrase. I never quite understood what he meant until I was in public office myself.

Sometimes you'll see the quote attributed to Oscar Wilde, but no one has ever been able to source it. Brewer's Quotations specifically notes that it is a consciously ironic rewriting of the older expression: "No bad deed goes unpunished."

Answer 2

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Answer 3

I see just 2 meanings in this. One has already been stated above, so that if you read it as - A No Good / Deed/ Goes unpunished.
But the one I think even better describes what this sentence actually means is that it is to do with 'humbleness'. If you congratulate yourself when doing a good deed then there is no real grace or humbleness in the act. Anyway that is the only other way I could make any sense in it

Answer 4

No good deed goes unpunished is a quote attributed to Clare Luce Boothe. She was a famous ambassador to Italy, a playwright and married to the founder of Time Life. She was also a convert to Catholicism after her daughter died and she went to grief counseling with the famous priest Fulton Sheen.
My interpretation of the phrase is that when you do a good deed it always comes back to bite you in the butt. Someone will not appreciate it and give you a hard time, even if they specifically asked for your help. People often change their minds about wanting help and take out their anger on the one helping. When you are the helper and someone else is the helped who abuses you, that's the time to say No good deed goes unpunished. It may make you feel a little better knowing you aren't the only one this happened to.

Answer 5

There is almost always some cost associated with giving a benefit to others that does not end up bringing a perceived reciprocal benefit. Those who cannot relate that cost as an investment in others welfare that could also benefit the whole of society, will see this as some sort of self punishment, lost value, or at best a public relations ploy. Knowing you have done well for all concerned should be enough payment. If you expect more, the good deed becomes employment. To be a "good" deed, it has to start and end in love. Love is not always reciprocal. When giving, "...do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing..."
......... Releasing the trapped animal without protecting yourself is just bad judgement.

Answer 6

"No good deed goes unpunished". I often wondered what this cliche' meant exactly. "Why should a good deed be punished? There is always a sacrifice involved in good deeds..... You stick you neck out (so to speak) and sometimes it gets chocked or even cut-off. Sometimes there is a penalty attached to doing good. How unfortunate.

Answer 7

this answer will be cynical which i am normally not. yes, right now i feel like i ve been bitten by a rabid rescue. was i following my natural instinct to try to help someone in need? yes, undoubtedly. was i being "true to myself"? good question. i think i now have a better understanding of what all of this means. can i accept the possibility that the situation can backfire on me and has it left me able to help someone else? yes, i believe God put us all on this earth to help each other. but a rabid rescue will always be rabid just like there are those who leech onto other s goodwill until nothing s left, kick dirt in their face and move on to another host. (yes, they have a knack for finding us!) am i now in a position to help someone -- anyone? no. i m drained financially and emotionally. there is going to be a long legal battle and even when that s finished there will be a major mess to clean up. wisdom is a hard won virtue. i think developing an understanding what being "true to myself" really means is part of that. sometimes wisdom really sucks!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

It's a variation of "Those you do the most for will end up hating you the most"--at least that is how I interpret it. People often try to do the right thing--put their neck out there for others, be meticulously honest--and end up getting hurt as a result. This is in spite of the fact that other selfish people go along blissfully, taking from others, putting themselves first, and seem to get ahead.

When they say "No good deed goes unpunished", they are referring to the unfortunate tendency of generous and ethical people to get burned, while just trying to do the right thing.

Answer 9

the only ones that go punished are those good deeds that are done for an a$$hole- sometimes you don t know if the person you are helping is an a$$hole or not- so that is probably where it derived from- people helping a$$holes. good people, always appreciate good deeds. I hate clichés, because they don t tell the whole truth, just some easily rattled off witticism

Answer 10

I helped my neighbor rescue his cat. The cat was stuck in another neighbor's yard. It was late at night. We rang that neighbor's doorbell to tell them we were back there. They did not answer. Later, as we rescued the cat, that neighbor woke up and called the police. We saved the cat, but a minute later we were surrounded by 9 police officers and almost shot. Had I bot done this good dead, I would not have been handcuffed and almost injured or killed.