"A stitch in time saves nine." This is an old saying that always confused me as a child. I never understand what the hell it meant. And no one I knew understood it either. Stitch in time, I wondered, what is a stitch in time? I thought to myself, humor is said to give one stitches in the side. But, how do you put a stitch in time. And what does it have to do with the number 9? 9 lives of a cat? 3 squared? This phrase kept bringing to a mind a tessaract from "A wrinkle in time." Could it be some sort of metaphysical statement? 9 also brought to mind Rip Van Winkle playing nine-pins with the elves. Could it be an allusion to magic?

Then, one day it came to me in a flash. A stitch in time saves nine. If one puts a stitch in a worn pair of trouser in time, this saves them from having to put in 10 stitches later. Amazing! Epiphany! Why did no one see this? It's so obvious that it's obscure. And, of course, we live in a throw-away world. We no longer stitch our clothing. We throw it away when it becomes worn.


So, anyway, I thought this was something. Anyone have any other little sayings or phrases that are so common (or not) that they are not obscure? So obvious that they somehow lose meaning?

That saying about stitches combined with your insight on modern society reminds me of "Brave new world", where things were thrown away instead of repaired...

Anyway, I do not know a lot of such phrases in english, only one that comes to my mind is: And apple a day keeps the doctor away

That phrase is insightful in several ways. Of course, fruit is good for you, but I think the more important consideration about apples is the effect it has on your teeth. In the days when people were dirty, disgusting pigs with no hygiene to speak of, eating apples was an excellent way to clean the teeth. I feel that this is the source of this saying. Anyone agree?

And, by the way, go ahead and throw out sayings from any other languages you care to. I'd be interested. Do translate them, of course. We all know that Google don't translate for shit. ;)

it just means you're better off dealing with a problem earlier than later. Specifically I think it refers to a rip in fabric (clothes for example) if you "stitch" a small tear right away (in time) you'll be saved from having to do "nine" stitches later when it gets bigger (as rips inevitably do).

And you didn't make it all the way through my post. :p I figured that out. This thread is not about discovering what that phrase means, but rather sharing similar phrases. Obscurity through obviousness. Or just any interesting phrase.


Edit: By the way, it's not saving you from doing 9 stitches later. It's saving you from doing 10. 9 more than the 1 you would do if caught early enough. That is key to this phrase, methinks.

oops sorry

This is one my grandma said that my late grandpa used to say "let my know when you get blood from a tirnup" he only said it when someone reminded him he owed them money.

Love that one. Blood from a stone is another alternative.

my grandma used to say, "the pot calling the kettle black" usually in reference to an example of hypocrisy. It took me years to figure out the basis for that one.

And, by the way, go ahead and throw out sayings from any other languages you care to. I'd be interested. Do translate them, of course. We all know that Google don't translate for shit.

I second that, I'd love to hear examples of sayings from other cultures and languages.

Oh, the only numeral that rhymes with "time" is nine, hence the use. Sayings are often in rhymes.
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Examples from other languages and cultures: Here are some of mine -- Slovene, a Slavic language:

"To go with your left hand into the right pocket (around your behind)" -- 'to do something the unpractical, tedious way'

"A word is not a horse" -- 'to ask a question or a favour is not wrong or bad' (I like to imagine it as "a word doesn't kick the way a horse does")

"In this bush is the rabbit hidden!" -- 'this is the real problem!'

"To go at a business the way a hungry man goes to shitting" -- 'to do something in an unwilling, slow, ineffective way'

"The chicken is teaching the hen" -- 'someone with inferior knowledge is teaching one with a superior knowledge'

"If you lay with dogs, you will wake up with fleas" -- self-explanatory

"A dog hunting two rabbits will catch none" -- self-explanatory

"The blacksmith's mare is always barefoot (doesn't have hoofshoes)" -- 'when it comes to doing things that are your profession, your family always comes last' (like a hairdresser's family where everyone has messy hair, even though the parent is a hairdresser)

lol, those are great, thanks!

Here's one that salesman use:

"Give a men a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a men to fish and you just blew your profit right there"

Here are some I grew up with (my family is Mexican and Scottish. No, I don't know how it happened, either. :bugeye: ):

"Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando"

The same sentiment as "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," except it translates as "A bird in the hand is worth more than a hundred in flight."

"En boca cerrada no entran moscas"

Literally, "Flies don't enter a closed mouth." Basically, if you keep your mouth shut, you won't say something boneheaded.

"Is fhearr fheuchainn na bhith san duil."

"It's better to try than to hope." This pretty much exhausts my knowledge of Scots Gaelic, and, Grandpa, wherever you are, I apologize for any spelling errors.

Wacky! :)

keep'm coming!

I'm getting a real education here. It's really interesting how these sayings are simultaneously so much like the ones I know and yet completely foreign to me at the same time.

more please! I find these subtle differences fascinating.

nvidia will be as good as ATi when hell freezes over
thats a saying is it not, a very common one amongst my associates aswell

OOPS--out-of-place artifacts

Give a men a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a men to fish and you just blew your profit right there
Reminds me of another similar one.

Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.