Wide will wear but narrow will tear.
Meaning: Broad foundations and generous margins endure stress better than tight, constrained structures.
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 Challenge
- If wilful will to water, wilful must be drowned. — Stubbornness that refuses to bend like water inevitably breaks against immovable obstacle…
- Take the will for the deed. — Accept someone's sincere effort or intention as equivalent to successful completion when…
- They that cannot do as they will, must do as they can. — When circumstances limit your options, pragmatism requires accepting what's achievable ra…
- If one will not, another will. — Refusing an opportunity doesn't eliminate it; someone else will eagerly seize what you re…
- Where the will is ready, the feet are light. — Motivation and eagerness make difficult journeys feel effortless and swift.
- It's an ill wind that blows nobody good. — Even harmful circumstances benefit someone, so misfortune rarely affects everyone equally.
From our tongue twisters
- Ibsens ripsbusker og andre buskvekster. — An 'sb / sk / busk' cluster trap that jams the tongue between the bushes.
- Rødgrød med fløde. — The legendary soft-d and rounded 'ø' test — the phrase Danes use to spot a non-native ins…
- Nồi đồng nấu ốc, nồi đất nấu ếch. — A tonal drill that swaps vowels and tones (đồng/đất, ốc/ếch) while the rhythm stays stead…