Half a loaf is better than none

Meaning: Something is better than nothing.

Origin: English proverb from John Heywood's 1546 collection.

Translations

• French: Faute de grives, on mange des merles (literally: Lacking thrushes, one eats blackbirds)
• Spanish: A falta de pan, buenas son tortas (literally: Lacking bread, cakes are good)
• Japanese: 無いよりはまし (Nai yori wa mashi) (literally: Better than having nothing)

More proverbs about Wisdom

• Don't reinvent the wheel — Don't waste effort on solved problems.
• Don't put the cart before the horse — Do things in the correct order.
• Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do — Sometimes unconventional paths lead to correct outcomes.
• Great minds think alike — Intelligent people often reach the same conclusions.
• Cross that bridge when you come to it — Deal with problems only when they arise.
• All roads lead to Rome — There are many ways to reach the same goal.

← Back to Proverbs

Loading the full interactive collection…