Haste makes waste
Meaning: Rushing leads to mistakes and wasted effort.
Origin: John Heywood's 1546 collection gives "Haste maketh waste," and the idea that rushing causes mistakes costing more time than they save was already a commonplace in Chaucer's day. The near-rhyme has kept it alive, along with a longer relative: "Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the good man and his wife."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: La hâte est mauvaise conseillère (literally: Haste is a bad advisor)
- Spanish: Las prisas son malas consejeras (literally: Haste is a bad advisor)
- Japanese: 急いては事を仕損じる (Seite wa koto wo shisonjiru) (literally: If you hurry, you'll mess things up)
- German: Eile mit Weile (literally: Hurry with leisure)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Don't cry over spilled milk — Don't worry about things that have already happened.
- A penny saved is a penny earned — Saving money is just as valuable as earning it.
- Easy come, easy go — Things obtained without effort are easily lost.
- The proof is in the pudding — Results speak louder than promises.
- Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it — Ignoring past mistakes leads to repeating them.
- The early worm gets eaten — Being first isn't always advantageous — sometimes it's risky.
From our compliments & insults
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- Faulpelz — A lazybones — someone who lounges around and avoids any effort, as warm and inert as a fu…