Fill in the blank: “You do not fatten a pig by ______ it.”

Correct answer: Weighing. The proverb says weighing does not make a pig fatter; measuring does not change growth.

Background: The proverb says that measuring something does not change it, just as weighing a pig does not make it fatter.

• Feeding: “Feeding” would contradict the proverb, because feeding does fatten a pig.
• Washing: “Washing” does not fit the proverb’s meaning.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because “weighing” is correct.

Did you know? It is related to the proverb “A watched pot never boils”.

Memory trick: Weighing measures; feeding fattens.