# What does ‘a fair-weather friend’ mean?

To “a fair-weather friend” means to someone loyal only in good times. The image is proverbial in English by the 18th century.

## What it means

- The image is proverbial in English by the 18th century.

## Action steps

1. Used dismissively of unreliable friends.
2. Example: He turned out to be a fair-weather friend.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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