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Essay on a stitch in time saves nine

Subrat Mangaraj Essay

This proverb is a counsel of prudence. Timely action very often prevents a great loss. Steps taken early means less labour, better success, less chance of loss or damage. Suppose their is a slight rent, in your garment or crack in the enbankment. If you put in a few timely stitches and repairs, further mischief may well be prevented. Similarly, if you do not attend to your books at the proper time, when the examination comes, you are at sea, you will be unable to cope with the situation. A small banyan shoot is noticed appearing in the crevices of a building; uproot it immediately; it will save the house; delay may mean great loss, perhaps ultimate destruction. A crack in the embankment of river will widen to let in flood waters to cause disaster if it is not plugged and repaired in time. It is so in all spheres of life. In politics, a problem left unsolved for long, often leads to disaster; tackled in time it saves a world of troubles. In small things as in great, in one's household as in one's business, in all circumstances, promptness in action means profit; delay means loss. But the average, man is easy-going and indolent. He seldom likes to do a thing today when he can put it off till tomorrow. That is why the average man has this habit of not doing a thing promptly, of delaying and postponing till it is too late to mend. A schoolboy has been given tasks for his vacation. The work is not pleasant, he postpones, and he waits for a time when he has no gossip or game on hand. This reminds us of the words of Chesterfield to his son "It is an undoubted truth that the less one has to do, the less one finds time to do it." While we are idling, time slips by and opportunities are wasted. Procrastination is, indeed, the thief of time. Causes of delaying action are born of feeling of complaisance too and much dependence on luck. A character of Dickens, Micawbar took loans and spent the amount thoughtlessly "in the expectation of something to turn up tomorrow." He was finally ruined. The golden hour of opportunity slips by, and what might have been easy becomes extremely difficult, as it is to make up the arrears. Sometimes one complains that he had no luck. But, as the proverb goes, 'we make our fortune and call it fate'. But proper steps taken at the proper time would have eliminated difficulties. Hence, we should make up our mind to act promptly to strike at once. "Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today", was the motto of Benjamin Franklin. We must at all times be well prepared for all things. The shiftless man is always at his wit's end. So he seeks, falls back. But the capable man takes immediate steps because he is ready at all times. If he had a rent in his garment, he knows where to find needle and thread to mend it. There is one circumstance where action may be deferred. It is where you find that action is unnecessary and hastiness is not advisable. Suppose the garment- that is rent is badly worn out, probably beyond repair. To mend it today will not end your troubles. Hence as a corollary, we may add, never sacrifice prudence to haste. Premature action also is unwise, because something may occur that may make you regret. It is wise to be cautious. "Look before you leap" is a maxim of wisdom

A stitch in time saves nine.

Meaning: You use this proverb to say that it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. It is often shortened to "A stitch in time." This proverb expresses a similar idea to that of An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Example: I advise fixing the leak now. If not, you might need to replace the whole engine later. Fixing the leak costs $50, but you need to pay at least $1,000 to replace the engine. A stitch in time, you know. If you have an idea for your final research paper, start writing today. Don't wait until the end of the semester. A stitch in time saves nine.

Picture:

This picture was drawn by Erika Aoyama on January 20, 2003.

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The meaning and origin of the expression: A stitch in time saves nine
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A stitch in time saves nine

Meaning
A timely effort will prevent more work later.

Origin
This is nothing to do with rips in the fabric of the space-time continuum, as some have ingeniously suggested. The meaning of this proverb is often requested at the Phrase Finder Discussion Forum, so I'll be explicit. The question usually asked is "saves nine what"? The 'stitch in time' is simply the sewing up of a small hole or tear in a piece of material, so saving the need for more stitching at a later date when the hole has become larger. Clearly, the first users of this expression were referring to saving nine stitches.

The Anglo Saxon work ethic is being called on here. Many English proverbs encourage immediate effort as superior to putting things off until later; for example, 'one year's seeds, seven year's weeds', 'procrastination is the thief of time' and 'the early bird catches the worm'. The 'stitch in time' notion has been current in English for a very long time and is first recorded in Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British, 1732: "A Stitch in Time May save nine." Fuller, who recorded a large number of the early proverbs in the language, wrote an explanatory preamble to this one: "Because verses are easier got by heart, and stick faster in the memory than prose; and because ordinary people use to be much taken with the clinking of syllables; many of our proverbs are so formed, and very often put into false rhymes; as, a stitch in time, may save nine; many a little will make a mickle. This little artiface, I imagine, was contrived purposely to make the sense abide the longer in the memory, by reason of its oddness and archness." As far as is known, the first person to state unambiguously that 'a stitch in time saves nine', rather than Fuller's less confident 'may save nine', was the English astronomer Francis Baily, in his Journal, written in 1797 and published in 1856 by Augustus De Morgan: After a little while we acquired a method of keeping her [a boat] in the middle of the stream, by watching the moment she began to vary, and thereby verifying the vulgar proverb, '"A stitch in time saves nine." See also: the List of Proverbs.

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