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There's a proverb in Hindi which literally translates to:

(He/she/You/they) doesn't know how to dance and falsely blames the floor for being crooked/broken/skewed

What is an equivalent English proverb for this? Obviously, it need not be about dancing as long as the point is conveyed, which is:

  • the target doesn't have the skill/ability/knowledge for the dance.
  • the floor is perfectly fine and it shouldn't be blamed.

EDIT: I've been forced to add this bit to convey that the idiom 'A bad workman blames his tools' doesn't fit in this context.

The workman blaming his tools would be like a dancer blaming his shoes. A dancer blaming the floor would be like the workman blaming the floor or something that disturbed him while working or even the weather. Hope that can convey the difference.

Ash
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  • I believe your question has already been answered here: https://english.stackexchange.com/a/265698/254919 Just be warned that this is not a commonly used proverb, and I do not believe there is any commonly used proverb that matches your description. – KumaAra Sep 19 '17 at 02:48
  • Thanks for the reply @KumaAra, but in the very scenario I've specified re: the dancer, would 'A bad workman blames his tools' really fit here? I don't believe it would. – Ash Sep 19 '17 at 02:57
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    A dancer who is bad at dancing blames the floor for making him bad at dancing. "It's not my fault I messed up the dance! This floor is bumpy!" Likewise, a bad workman will blame his tools for his workmanship being poor. "It's not my fault your table looks crooked, the jointer I used is crooked!" Both involve someone not skilled at the task that blames some outside object for their poor performance. And in both cases, the floor/tools are actually perfectly fine. It is in fact the dancer/workman who is just unskilled at the task. – KumaAra Sep 19 '17 at 03:03
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    KumaAra, you seem to be first suggesting A poor workman blames his tools isn't common usage, then commending it. I wasn't counting yet I'd bet I've heard it several times in each and every one of my 62 years. I do think it is less common now than it was generations ago but that's a different thing, isn't it? – Robbie Goodwin Sep 20 '17 at 20:50

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