I always understood the "nail that sticks up" as analogous to a "tall poppy" rather than a "squeaking wheel". I.e. someone who is too visibly doing well in an environment where everyone is supposed to be oppressed by staying buried in the wood.

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tokai 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I never head that understanding of the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I thought it was about the loudest/most obvious issues gets attention.

	▲	zahlman 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It is. The second sentence is describing a "tall poppy". My point is that I think the author is comparing metaphors that don't make sense to compare.