proverb · Source-linked selection
After a famine in the stall, Comes a famine in the hall.
After a famine in the stall, Comes a famine in the hall.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes scarcity in an animal stall precede scarcity in the household hall. It pictures difficulty moving from provision for livestock to provision for people.
What the words are saying
Stall and hall join two parts of a household economy in a remembered sequence. As an analogy, shortages affecting one supporting activity may warn that other activities will face strain. The text does not verify an inevitable famine sequence or provide a method for predicting food supply. A useful reading asks which real dependencies need attention.
Everyday example
A group checks how a shortage of materials affects later work rather than treating the first interruption as an isolated problem.
When to use it
Use it as an explicit analogy about connected shortages.
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What it does not mean
It is not an independently verified agricultural or famine forecast.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 543 · Famine
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English