revenge is a dish best served cold

Etymology
Earliest known metaphorical reference to revenge as food in English is “And then revenge is very good eaten cold, as the vulgar say”, from a 1846 translation of 's Mathilde: Mémoires d'une Jeune Femme. The passage suggests that it was an existing expression. Similar proverbs are known as early as the 17th century with “Reuenge is not good in cold bloud” in a translation of Don Quixote.

The phrase exists in various Romance languages: 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬. In French, it's commonly used since at least the 19th century.

In English, many variations are attested but the exact phrase may originate from the 1982 film .

Proverb

 * 1) Revenge is best or most satisfying when delayed.

Translations

 * Arabic:
 * Catalan:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto: venĝo estas plado manĝita malvarme
 * Finnish: kosto on parhaimmillaan kylmänä
 * French:
 * German: Rache serviert man am besten kalt, Rache genießt man am besten kalt
 * Greek: η εκδίκηση είναι ένα πιάτο που τρώγεται κρύο
 * Hungarian: a bosszú hidegen tálalva a legjobb
 * Indonesian: ada hujan ada panas, ada hari boleh balas
 * Italian: la vendetta è un piatto che va servito freddo
 * Japanese:
 * Korean:
 * Polish: zemsta najlepiej smakuje na zimno
 * Portuguese: vingança é um prato que se come frio, a vingança é um prato que se serve frio
 * Romanian: răzbunarea este un fel de mâncare care este servit la rece
 * Spanish: la venganza es un plato que se sirve frío
 * Swedish:, hämnden är ljuv
 * Turkish:
 * Vietnamese: quân tử trả thù, mười năm chưa muộn