This idiom urges against blaming or punishing someone who delivers bad news, as they are merely conveying information, not causing the problem. It emphasizes fairness and restraint, protecting the bearer of unwelcome tidings from unwarranted hostility. The phrase is used in professional, personal, or diplomatic contexts to advocate for separating the message from its deliverer, often with a defensive or moralizing tone. It reflects the human tendency to misdirect frustration and the need to focus on the issue rather than the intermediary.

The phrase has ancient roots, traceable to Sophocles’ *Antigone* (442 BCE), where a messenger fears punishment for bad news. Plutarch’s *Lives* (1st century CE) recounts a Persian custom of sparing heralds, influencing the proverb. In English, it appeared by the 16th century, with William Shakespeare’s *Henry IV, Part 2* (1598) using ‘kill the messenger.’ The modern form, ‘don’t shoot the messenger,’ emerged in the 19th century, as seen in an 1860 *The Times* article during diplomatic tensions. Its use grew in the 20th century, particularly in journalism and politics, reflecting increased media scrutiny and the role of intermediaries in communication.