Drive not a second nail till the first is clenched.

Meaning: Complete each task fully before beginning another, ensuring solid progress rather than scattered effort.

Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.

More proverbs about Challenge

• It is ill meddling with edged tools. — Dabbling with dangerous instruments without skill or caution invites injury and regret.
• An empty purse fills the face with wrinkles. — Poverty's hardships and anxieties visibly age a person through stress and deprivation.
• If you must have an evil, choose a little one. — Small harms wisely accepted spare you from greater suffering later.
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