Back to all idioms

Cada macaco no seu galho

Portuguese

Meaning

Each to his own / Mind your own business

Example

Francisco que é pintor vive dando palpite sobre a instalação elétrica. Cada macaco no seu galho.

Francisco, who is a painter, always gives advice on electrical work. Each to his own.

Origin

The picture is from the treetops: just as each monkey keeps to its own branch, each person should stay in their place and tend only to what concerns them. The phrase cada macaco no seu galho ("each monkey on its own branch") works as a folk proverb, and reference dictionaries class its precise etymology as uncertain.

Source: Priberam.