Wilful waste makes woeful want.
Meaning: Deliberate squandering of resources today inevitably leads to painful scarcity tomorrow.
Origin: An early 18th-century proverb, recorded in James Kelly's Scottish Proverbs (1721). It is the older, sterner form of "waste not, want not."
More proverbs about Challenge
- Will without reason is blind. — Unchecked determination without rational thought leads to destructive or futile actions.
- Youth will have its swing. — Young people naturally seek freedom and experience before settling into adult responsibil…
- No pain, no gain — You must work hard to achieve results.
- When the going gets tough, the tough get going — Strong people don't give up when faced with challenges.
- When life gives you lemons, make lemonade — Make the best of a bad situation.
- Necessity is the mother of invention — Difficult situations inspire creative solutions.
From our untranslatable words
- Yurodivy — One who plays the fool deliberately as a religious act, and is therefore licensed to spea…
- Khalyava — Something good got for free and without effort — and, strictly, something you were never…
- Beloruchka — Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.