proverb · Words worth keeping
Fast bind, fast find.
Fast bind, fast find.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Something properly secured is more likely to remain available when it is needed. The binding-and-finding rhyme encourages taking care over an arrangement, while it does not promise perfect security or supply instructions for tying, restraint or storage.
Example
A group records which volunteer has each borrowed display item and agrees its return date, making the collection easier to account for later.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The two uses of fast connect a firm binding with confidence in finding the item later. Figuratively, a careful arrangement can make an expected result more dependable than leaving a task loosely settled. This can mean recording an agreement, giving an item a known place or checking that a responsibility has a clear owner. The proverb does not guarantee that nothing can go wrong. It also does not justify controlling people as though they were objects to secure. Its useful reading concerns practical clarity and appropriate care, with the method chosen for the particular situation rather than taken from the rhyme as a technical rule.
When to use it
Use it when an arrangement needs clearer responsibility or a dependable way to locate something.
Keep in mind
No method guarantees security; the image does not authorise controlling people or prescribe a technical procedure.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their 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
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English