Pull gently on a weak rope.
Meaning: Excessive force on fragile things causes them to break; restraint and care preserve what's already damaged.
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
- It is easier to pull down than to build. — Destruction requires less effort, skill, and time than creating something of lasting valu…
- Let your purse be your master. — Spending wisely means letting your financial capacity, not desires, determine your purcha…
- He that shows his purse longs to be rid of it. — Displaying wealth openly invites theft, so the careless advertiser unconsciously desires…
- Don't quarrel with the beggar for his bone. — Arguing with someone who has nothing to lose is pointless and beneath your dignity.
- Raise no more spirits than you can conjure down. — Ambition beyond your control creates chaos you cannot contain or resolve.
- There's reason in roasting of eggs. — Even mundane tasks, properly executed, follow rational principles worth understanding.
From our tongue twisters
- 경찰청 철창살은 외철창살이고 검찰청 철창살도 외철창살이다. (Gyeongchalcheong cheolchangsal eun oe cheolchangsal igo, geomchalcheong cheolchangsal do oe cheolchangsal ida.) — A 'cheong/cheol/chal' onslaught — Korean's aspirated stops and affricates in relentless s…
- Strč prst skrz krk. — Four words, zero vowels — the most concentrated consonant cluster challenge in any Europe…
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. — The 'l/r' alternation drill — deceptively short, yet almost impossible to say fast withou…