Stitches

What does "a stitch in time saves nine" mean?

I never understood it.

Public Comments

1. You use this proverb to say that it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. It is often shortened to "A stitch in time." Example: If you have an idea for your final research paper, start writing today. Don't wait until the end of the semester.
2. If you take the time to do something right the first time, you won't have to go back and do it again.
3. A stitch in time saves nine Meaning A timely effort will prevent more work later. Origin This is nothing to do with rips in the fabric of the space-time continuum, as some have ingeniously suggested. The meaning of this proverb is often requested at the Phrase Finder Discussion Forum, so I'll be explicit. The question usually asked is "saves nine what"? The stitch in time is simply the sewing up of a small hole in a piece of material and 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. The Anglo Saxon work ethic is being called on here. Many English proverbs encourage immediate effort as superior to putting things off until later; for example, 'one year's seeds, seven year's weeds', 'procrastination is the thief of time' and 'the early bird catches the worm'. The 'stitch in time' notion has been current in English for a very long time and is first recorded in Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British, 1732: "A Stitch in Time May save nine." Fuller, who recorded a large number of the early proverbs in the language, wrote a little explanatory preamble to this one: "Because verses are easier got by heart, and stick faster in the memory than prose; and because ordinary people use to be much taken with the clinking of syllables; many of our proverbs are so formed, and very often put into false rhymes; as, a stitch in time, may save nine; many a little will make a mickle. This little artiface, I imagine, was contrived purposely to make the sense abide the longer in the memory, by reason of its oddness and archness." 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."
4. If you fix a small problem right away, it will not become a bigger problem later.
5. Better to make a little effort to fix a problem before it gets bigger. Think of actual sewing - if you have a little tear in your clothes, it'll eventually tear worse. So, if you fix it right away with "a stitch" it won't turn into a bigger tear that needs "nine."
6. Proverbs: A stitch in time saves nine The proverb was originally a couplet. The number nine was apparently introduced fancifully for the sake of assonance. A Stitch in Time May save nine. [1732 T. Fuller Gnomologia no. 6291] 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.’ [1797 F. Baily Journal 30 Apr. (1856) 268] Repairing the ship. Found a crack or two in her inner skin. ‥A stitch in time saves nine. [1868 Reade & Boucicault Foul Play I. ix.] Looking after oneself is like looking after a house: a stitch in time‥ [1979 Homes & Gardens June 105] Idiom: a stitch in time A prompt action will avert more serious trouble. For example, Changing the car's oil every 7,000 miles is a stitch in time. The complete form of this adage, a stitch in time saves nine, appeared in Thomas Fuller's 1732 proverb collection, Gnomologia, and is so well known that it often is stated in shortened form. Ogden Nash played with it in the title for his verse collection, A Stitch Too Late Is My Fate (1938). http://www.answers.com/A%20stitch%20in%20time%20saves%20nine Etymology From the pratice of knitting. A little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem, prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring a lot of effort to fix later; A little preparation can eliminate the need for repairs later; consistency (achieving a set rhythm) is better than trying to rush ahead. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_stitch_in_time_saves_nine A little preventive maintenance can eliminate the need for major repairs later. (See also An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.) http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/stitchintime.html http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/ounceofpreve.html http://www.answers.com/An%20ounce%20of%20prevention%20is%20worth%20a%20pound%20of%20cure