Speculation completes what extravagance began.
Meaning: Unfounded assumptions compound the damage already caused by reckless spending.
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
- He would split a hair. — Obsessive attention to trivial distinctions wastes effort on meaningless differences.
- Stolen kisses are sweet. — Illicit affection tastes delicious precisely because secrecy and danger make it thrilling…
- Store is no sore. — Abundance acquired through prudent saving prevents the pain of future scarcity and want.
- Straight trees have crooked roots. — Trees growing perfectly upright often develop twisted root systems compensating for soil…
- No striving against the stream. — Futile effort exhausts you; accepting circumstances' natural flow preserves energy for wh…
- Little strokes fell great oaks. — Persistent small efforts accumulate to accomplish what seems impossible through sheer rep…
From our tongue twisters
- Μια πάπια μα ποια πάπια; μια πάπια με παπιά στα παγωμένα νερά. (Mia papia ma pia papia; mia papia me papia sta pagomena nera.) — A 'pa/pi/pag' drill — the near-identical syllables pile up while the image stays perfectl…
- Appilan pappilan apupapin papupata pankolla kiehuu ja kuohuu. — A relentless 'pap/pap/pu' bilabial drill stacked with Finnish double consonants.
- Mit sütsz, kis szűcs? Tán sós húst sütsz, kis szűcs? — An 'sz / s / ts' sibilant duel — Hungarian's two close s-sounds collide in every word.