ProverbWisdomEnglish origin

Where it is weakest there the thread breaketh.

Meaning: Failure occurs at the point of greatest vulnerability, not where strength exists.

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.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Polish

  • French: Où il est faible le fil se rompt (literally: Where the thread is weakest it breaks)
  • Spanish: Siempre quiebra la soga por lo más delgado (literally: The rope always snaps at its thinnest point)
  • German: Wo der Strick am dünnsten ist, da reißt er (literally: Where the rope is thinnest, there it tears)
  • Russian: Где тонко, там и рвётся (Gde tonko, tam i ryvotsya) (literally: Where it's thin, that's where it tears)
  • Polish: Gdzie cienko, tam się rwie (literally: Where it's thin, there it tears)

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