proverb · Words worth keeping
Great Haste Makes Great Waste.
Great Haste Makes Great Waste.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The rhyme makes great haste produce great waste. It intensifies a warning about rushing through work without enough care.
Example
A team checks the part most vulnerable to error before sending a hurried deliverable.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The repeated great enlarges both the action and its imagined consequence. A qualified application can compare speed with avoidable rework, while recognising tasks that need timely action. The phrase does not establish that fast work always fails or slow work is always careful.
When to use it
Use it to discuss appropriate care when working quickly.
Keep in mind
Speed alone does not establish waste, and delay can also cause problems.
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