Stitches

In the saying " A stitch in time saves nine", what does the "nine" stand for ?

Public Comments

1. Nine pence.
2. Ben Franklin said, "A stitch in time saves nine." He meant that quick and speedy repairs of small problems can save bigger repairs and more headaches in the future.
3. One stitch done right saves nine stitches done wrong.
4. Nine is just a metaphor--and conveniently rhymes with "time". It just means to fix problems when they are little because it will take longer to fix if you wait too long and the problem becomes much bigger..
5. 9 more stitches, or repairing it right away will keep something from unraveling further!
6. A stitch in time will save you from 9 more stiches when the whole you didn't fix gets bigger!
7. It stands for stitches. If, for instance, your hem is coming out of your pants leg and you make a stitch in time (before it gets worse) you save yourself from having to make nine stitches later. It just means if you do something at the right time then it is a lot less trouble in the long run.
8. the original was nine pence. it means that if you do it right the first time, you wont be spending money on it later.
9. A Stitch in time saves nine STITICHES later when the cloth or clothe is further torn. 'Nine' is used here for many & not exactly nine!
10. One stitch now saves nine stitches later. :-)
11. time at nine was falling down, hence it had to be done before that
12. Nine stitches you dunce. If you do a minor repair while it is still minor it will save a major repair later on.
13. The Nine counts for nothing. It means if you solve a problem early it saves an even bigger problem further down the line.