Stitch in Time Saves Nine In english explanation

The meaning, explanation, definition and origin of the idiom/phrase "Stitch in Time Saves Nine", English Idiom Dictionary ( also found in Vietnamese )

author Helen Nguyen calendar 2021-03-06 12:03

Meaning of Stitch in Time Saves Nine

Synonyms:

Procrastination is the thief of time , ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Stitch in Time Saves Nine sentence spoken language

Said to mean that if you act or solve problems immediately, it will save a lot of extra work later.

I think it's better to bring your car to the shop while it’s still running as a stitch in time saves nine

A stitch in time saves nine, so we need to deal with climate change before it gets worse.

Other phrases about:

keep (an amount of) balls in the air

To deal with a number of different things at the same time

settle (one's) affairs

To handle one's business problems related to finance or property

call by (a name)

To use a specific name for someone

dope out

To understand, find out or figure out a solution for something
 

have (someone or something) for breakfast

To easily defeat, finish, or deal with someone or something.

Origin of Stitch in Time Saves Nine

The 'stitch in time' phrase has the implications of the prompt sewing up of a small hole or tear in a piece of material, so saving the need for more stitching at a later date when the hole has become larger. Clearly the first users of this expression were referring to saving nine stitches.

This notion has been current in English for a very long time and is first recorded in Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia: A Collection of the Proverbs, Maxims and Adages That Inspired Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard's Almanack, 1732:

"A Stitch in Time May save nine."

As far as is known, the first person to state unambiguously that 'a stitch in time saves nine', rather than Fuller's less confident 'may save nine', was the English astronomer Francis Baily, in his Journal, written in 1797 and published in 1856 by Augustus De Morgan:

"After a little while we acquired a method of keeping her [a boat] in the middle of the stream, by watching the moment she began to vary, and thereby verifying the vulgar proverb, '"A stitch in time saves nine."

(Source: phrase.org.uk)

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