Over haste makes certain waste.
Meaning: Rushing through tasks carelessly destroys more value than the time saved by hurrying.
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 Wisdom
- Hasty resolutions seldom speed well. — Rushing into decisions without reflection typically produces poor outcomes and delays eve…
- High places have their precipices. — Elevated positions of power and prestige carry corresponding risks of catastrophic fall a…
- Hope humbles more than despair. — Anticipating better futures makes us more vulnerable to disappointment than accepting cur…
- Hunger costs little; daintiness much. — Simple needs are cheaply met; refined tastes demand expensive indulgence.
- Jest not at another's infirmities. — Mocking someone's weaknesses or afflictions breeds cruelty and diminishes your own humani…
- There's no joy without alloy. — Pure pleasure is impossible; every good thing contains some mixture of difficulty or sorr…
From our idioms
- De derrière les fagots — The very best, kept back for a special occasion.
- Avoir les coudées franches — To have complete freedom of action.
- Battre sa coulpe — To publicly acknowledge one's own wrongdoing.