Essentially, this idiom is used to talk about someone that is trying to find faults in something that is faultless or trying to find something wrong in an otherwise good situation. This translates literally as in ‘’to push someone into a bottle’’, but its English equivalent is ‘’to pull someone’s leg. It might help to picture a bunch of circus monkeys (that you aren’t responsible for) causing a ruckus to help you remember this one. In short, it could be translated as having the same meaning of “I mind my own business” or ‘’it’s none of my business’’, but in a broader sense, it’s usually used to enhance the fact that you are not the one to judge someone else’s actions, even when you don’t necessarily agree with them.

It is noted by Henryk Markiewicz and Andrzej Romanowski in Skrzydlate słowa: wielki słownik cytatów polskich i obcych from 2005, that the proverb has been first used in 1993, when Ireneusz Sekula commented the governing of Hanna Suchocka. Drowning is a poignant example of desperation, and that’s just what it’s supposed to depict in this idiom: someone who is drowning is desperate and will do anything to try and save themselves.I had to let go of changing her and just make my own decisions about what I could fit into my schedule. Whether you’re talking about your circus or your monkeys, one important thing to remember is that I own neither.

You could also stop the gossiping that someone else has started by saying: ‘’Oh, not my circus, I don’t want to know about it. it might be a good idea to make sure people realise you are there to help yet nothing is better than making them understand a great benefits of dealing with their own monkey (and they are many). As if the mess someone else has found himself in, is not your mess to worry about, and the people taking part in that mess are not the ones you can control.

One of the major factors in HR losing their focus over recent years in its desire to be more strategic is the attempted move to say that everything is “line manager” responsibility. You may need help figuring out what to do first, because your depressed brain is stuck, so talk to friends and colleagues about ideas of how to change. Bread and butter is a plain, straightforward meal, and this is probably why it’s used to convey simplicity and ease. Recently, you could also hear the no-negation version of the proverb, saying: ‘’My circus, my monkeys’’, meaning that you are the only one who has to worry about it, or that you should take the responsibility for certain actions. When I'm not shooting film photos or hiking the next mountain, you'll find me here on The Awesome Daily.