The best is cheapest.
Meaning: Quality goods cost less over time through durability, while cheap replacements breed expense through repeated failures.
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
- Birchen twigs break no ribs. — Gentle correction in youth prevents greater harm than harsh punishment inflicts.
- "Care not" would have. — Indifference invites poverty; those who neglect their affairs lose what they might have g…
- Like carrying coals to Newcastle. — Supplying something to a place already abundant in it wastes effort and resources foolish…
- Catch that catch may. — Seize opportunities opportunistically without moral judgment about methods or fairness of…
- Look to the main chance. — Prioritize opportunities that offer genuine benefit over distractions or minor advantages.
- Hasty climbers have sudden falls. — Rushing toward goals without careful planning or preparation invites disaster and setback.
From our idioms
- Mesurer à l'aune de — To judge something by a particular standard.
- L'avocat du diable — Someone who argues a position they do not hold in order to test it.
- Dans tous les azimuts — In every direction at once; scattered and unfocused.