paddle own canoe

paddle your own canoe

Meaning

• To be able to act without having to depend on anyone.
• Decide your own fortune.
• Go in your own direction.
• Self-reliance.

Example Sentences

1. He feels he can paddle his own canoe now so wants to move out of his parent's house.
2. Children need their parents around, they can't just paddle their own canoe.
3. She is a strong woman and can paddle her own canoe without having a man in her life.
4. He prefers doing small and odd jobs to be able to paddle his own canoe rather than depending upon help that may never come.
5. When you are out of school and have completed college education then it is time for you to paddle your own canoe.
6. I have seen the world on my own, I like paddling my own canoe.

Origin
The phrase has been in existence since the early 19th century. In 1807 it was used in the work named, ‘The Selangor Journal: Jottings Past and Present'. In 1939 the phrase was used by Lord Baden-Powell as the tittle of his book and meant it in the way that it is being used today.

The phrase has been used by anonymous writers in poetries since 1851.