Make the vine poor, and it will make you rich.
Meaning: Pruning grapevines severely forces them to concentrate resources into fewer, higher-quality fruits that command better prices.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Challenge
- Vows made in storms are forgotten in calms. — Emotional commitments pledged during crisis dissolve once danger passes and circumstances…
- War, hunting, and law, are as full of trouble as pleasure. — Life's most engaging pursuits inevitably mix hardship with satisfaction, demanding we acc…
- Who preacheth war is the devil's chaplain. — Advocating violence serves evil's purposes, regardless of one's stated justifications or…
- To him that wills ways are not wanting. — Determined individuals discover opportunities and solutions where others see only obstacl…
- Wedding and ill-wintering tame both man and beast. — Harsh conditions and major life commitments force humans and animals alike to abandon wil…
- Wide will wear but narrow will tear. — Broad foundations and generous margins endure stress better than tight, constrained struc…
From our idioms
- save something for a rainy day — To save something, usually money, for a possible future need.
- say a mouthful — To say something of a significant or shocking nature (sentence 1); to say more than one s…
- scared out of one's wits — So afraid that one is unable to think clearly.