"Don't let the same snake bite you twice"

“Don’t/Never let the same snake bite you twice” is a proverbial saying that has been printed on many images. It’s similar to the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

”... upon the people of Gibson, who, however, were not to be bitten twice by the same snake” was printed in the Evansville (IN) Journal on September 6, 1869. “An old adage says that ‘a man does not want to be bit twice by the same snake’” was printed in The Electric Medical Journal (Cincinnati, OH) in January 1894.

“A man bitten twice by the same snake is a fool” was printed in the book The Abandoned Hut (1972) by Joseph Buruga. “Reflect on the African proverb ‘a man bitten once by a snake is unlucky: a man bitten twice by the same snake is a fool’” was printed on Jaluo.com on May 16, 2008. “A man bitten twice by the same snake is a fool- African proverb” was posted on Twitter by ⸸𝔘𝔫𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 on May 15, 2013.

“‘Since I began coaching, I’ve gone through one divorce,’ he said. ‘You don’t let the same snake bite you twice’” was printed in the St. Petersburg (FL) Times on August 6, 1986. “Don’t let the same snake bite you twice” was posted on Twitter by Lucel on January 6, 2011. “But never let the same snake bite you twice!!” was posted on Twitter by Lebronda James on July 1, 2011.

Newspapers.com
6 September 1869, Evansville (IN) Journal, “Evansville and New Albany,” pg. 2, col. 2:
... upon the people of Gibson, who, however, were not to be bitten twice by the same snake.

Newspapers.com
15 May 1886, The New Era (Lancaster, PA), “The Why and the Wherefore” by Columbia, pg. 10, col. 3:
I am told, for excellent reasons; the publishers are not willing to be “bitten twice by the same snake.”

Google Books
January 1894, The Electric Medical Journal (Cincinnati, OH), pg. 43:
An old adage says that “a man does not want to be bit twice by the same snake.”

Google Books
The Door of Dread:
A Secret Service Romance
By Arthur Stringer
Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1916
Pg. 189:
“I don’t get bit twice by the same snake!” quietly averred the rosy-cheeked old gentleman, as he stabbed his heart of lettuce to the core.

Google Books
The Abandoned Hut
By Joseph Buruga
Nairobi, Kenya: East African Pub. House
1972
Pg. 92:
A man bitten twice by the same snake is a fool.

Newspapers.com
10 April 1986, Philadelphia (PA) Daily News “Snake-bit and Foolish,” pg. 45, col. 1:
An old folk tale says to call it an accident if a snake bites you once, but you have to be a damn fool to let the same snake bite you twice.

6 August 1986, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Little time, little pay; coach quits” by Steve Baal, pg. 1C:
Bill Ferguson was named head football coach and athletic director at St. Petersburg Catholic High School in April, but last week he resigned before coaching his first game.

“Since I began coaching, I’ve gone through one divorce,” he said. “You don’t let the same snake bite you twice.”

Google Groups: alt.philosophy
What’s the best advice that your father gave you?
Stranger
Aug 5, 2004, 1:04:23 PM
(...)
Don’t let the same snake bite you twice.

Jaluo.com
Grand Opposition
This entry was posted in Africa News on May 16, 2008 by alangreen.
(...)
Reflect on the African proverb “a man bitten once by a snake is unlucky: a man bitten twice by the same snake is a fool”.

Twitter
Lucel
@Luce_LostTrib3
Don’t let the same snake bite you twice
1:43 PM · Jan 6, 2011·twidroyd (original)

Twitter
T.N. Wellington
@tnwspeakstruth
If you let the same snake bite you twice then you are playing the fool!
12:09 AM · Apr 16, 2011·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Lebronda James
@_Pooh_Chi
Its OK to still love someone after they hurt you….cause there’s no off/on button for love!! But never let the same snake bite you twice!!
5:37 AM · Jul 1, 2011·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Tennessee Nichols
@DJTenn
“dont let the same snake bite you twice!” - Ernestine Charles @RuPaul’s mother..
12:42 PM · Jul 28, 2011·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Jane Doe
@Ty_da_Icon
#dearyoungself you are gonna be smart enough not to let the same snake bite you twice
8:47 PM · Jul 31, 2011·Mobile Web

Twitter
T.N. Wellington
@tnwspeakstruth
#LessonsForLife: Forgive but don’t be FOOLISH! Don’t let the same snake bite you twice!
6:16 PM · Aug 4, 2011·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
To Niya Scott-Smith
@SistahTuMuch
Never let the same snake bite you twice.
8:19 AM · Aug 5, 2011·Mobile Web

Google Books
Tales of a Black Pearl the Pain, the Love, and the Fear…
By Ricky T McKinney
Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse
2013
Pg. 81:
Grandpa always told me,
Never let the same snake bite you twice.

Twitter
Nqabakazi Mbiko
@TheReal_Inqaba
“He who is bitten twice by the same snake at the same place is a fool.”
1:10 PM · Apr 8, 2013 from Cofimvaba, South Africa·Twitter for Android

Twitter
⸸𝔘𝔫𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 [Flag of Kenya] 𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯⸸
@LazzLo_
A man bitten twice by the same snake is a fool- African proverb.
6:18 AM · May 15, 2013·Hotot for Chrome

19 September 2014, BBC Monitoring European (London, UK), “Bosnian daily views ‘war’ for post of Presidency member:
He concluded: “Do not let the same snake bite you twice from the same hole.”

Google Books
A Ten-Part Book to Maximizing Your Potential:
The Real Challenge of Life Is to Live Out the Richness That Already Exist Withint Us
By Danny Ray Christian
Xlibris Corporation
2015
Pg. ?:
Don’t be a fool and let the same snake bite you twice, but you can’t let it frighten you into fearing all forms of life.

Twitter
.
@Asht0n
Don’t get bit twice by the same snake
4:22 PM · Mar 26, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Elgin Charles
@ElginCharles
NEVER let the same snake bite you twice.
7:21 PM · Sep 26, 2019·Twitter for Android

Twitter
madison
@madison_nicoles
Don’t let the same snake bite you twice !
11:55 PM · Jan 18, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
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@sjones23__
never let the same snake bite you twice!
10:56 PM · Jan 20, 2021 from Philadelphia, PA·Twitter for iPhone