Stitches

What does the phrase mean 'A stitch in time saves 9'?

Public Comments

1. A little preventive maintenance can eliminate the need for major repairs later.
2. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine " A Stitch in Time Saves Nine" is a common American proverb. It means that if you have a rip in your clothes you will only have to stitch once unless you wait until it gets bigger, then you will have to stitch 9 more times. It also means that if you have a problem you should take care of it before it turns into a big problem
3. You can minimize a problem by taking a small corrective action now rather than waiting to later on. For example, if your clothes seam comes loose, refastening it with one stitch now will save you from having to make nine stitches tomorrow when the seam has loosened even more. Expanding on that, if there is a small plumbing leak in your house today and you fix it now, it will be less work than if you wait for a ceiling to be ruined too. Time and nine almost rhyme making for a catchy easy to remember phrase, but you could as easily say, "A stitch in time saves six" or eleven, etc. to get the point.