Rome was not built in a day
Rome wasn't built in a day
proverb Major undertakings are not completed all at once. A: "I've been working on my thesis all day and only wrote three pages." B: "Well, Rome wasn't built in a day."
See also: built, Rome
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
Rome was not built in a day.
Prov. It takes a lot of time to achieve something important. Professor: When will you finish your research project? Student: It'll take me a while. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know.
See also: built, not, Rome
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
Rome was not built in a day
People say Rome was not built in a day to point out that it takes a long time to do a task properly, and you should not rush it or expect to do it quickly. Only two people I interviewed were charitable about the new government. `Rome wasn't built in a day,' one man said `Let's give them more time.' These things take time. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know.
See also: built, not, Rome
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
Rome was not built in a day
a complex or ambitious task is bound to take a long time and should not be rushed.This warning against rashness and impatience has been current in English since the mid 16th century.
See also: built, not, Rome
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
Rome was not built in a day
Be patient; major achievements take time. This expression was already a proverb in the late twelfth century, and then appeared in two famous English proverb collections of the sixteenth century, Richard Taverner’s (1539) and John Heywood’s (1546). The saying is still current.
See also: built, not, Rome
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- teach a man to fish
- it takes a village
- village
- best-laid plans go astray, the
- the best-laid plans
- the best-laid plans go astray
- the best-laid plans of mice and men
- for want of a nail
- For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse ...
- a woman's work is never done