stitch in time saves nine

a stitch in time (saves nine)

proverb An action taken now will prevent problems later. You should consider getting your car repaired now before you're left stranded on the side of the road—a stitch in time saves nine. I know it's a month away, but I already started preparing for the big dinner party. A stitch in time, you know.
See also: stitch, time
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

stitch in time saves nine

Prov. If you fix a small problem right away, it will not become a bigger problem later. Let's patch the roof before that hole gets bigger. A stitch in time saves nine.
See also: nine, save, stitch, time
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

stitch in time saves nine, a

Solving a difficulty while it is small may save a great deal of trouble in the end. The analogy to mending a small rip versus sewing an entire new seam was a proverb by the eighteenth century, appearing in Thomas Fuller’s 1732 collection. It has been repeated dozens of times since; Ogden Nash played with it in the title of a verse collection, A Stitch Too Late Is My Fate (1938).
See also: save, stitch, time
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • teach a man to fish
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • an apple a day
  • apple a day
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
  • better bend than break
References in periodicals archive
not" and "a stitch in time saves nine" This frugal, conservative way helped us survive challenging times while holding onto a hilly, rural piece of property we felt we could not live without
OLD WAYS FADE SLOWLY
New York -- Advocating a "stitch in time saves nine" Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Dr Allama Tahirul Qadri Tuesday said that had the terrorists not been able to find a way out of the loopholes the law of the land is riddled with, the situation would not have worsened to this measure.
Qadri says weak laws strengthened terror
They say a stitch in time saves nine and we found it can save money too.
Make, do and mend
A STITCH in time saves nine, so goes the old saying.
Looking back
A stitch in time saves nine, another resident Malik Akram said and added the Capital Development Authority was already facing financial crunch and early repairs can help it save millions.
Commuters demand urgent repair on various roads in city
The commissioner makes a very good point which illustrates the old saying "a stitch in time saves nine".
Care for the elderly not acceptable; DAILY POST YOUR VOICE IN WALES
A stitch in time saves nine is, I think, the way that old sewing adage goes.
LAST-DITCH STITCHES
"A stitch in time saves nine" but one has to know that the stitch needs to be taken and where.
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