One must step back to make the better leap.
One must step back to make the better leap.
Meaning in plain English
A temporary retreat can improve the next attempt. Stepping back may create room to prepare or reconsider rather than amounting to abandonment.
Example
After a failed workshop session, the organisers pause to simplify the material and test it with a small group before scheduling another event.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The backward step provides space for a stronger leap, so movement away from the objective becomes part of reaching it. The image can help distinguish an intentional pause from giving up. Use the pause to identify what preparation, support or revised method the next attempt needs. That purpose matters: withdrawal without reassessment may simply delay the same difficulty. The proverb does not promise that every retreat will produce progress, and it cannot determine whether a particular objective remains worth pursuing after the new information is considered.
When to use it
Use it to explain a purposeful pause that improves a later attempt.
Keep in mind
Some pauses become avoidance, while some objectives should be dropped. Review what the retreat actually changes.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 22; French section, paragraph 446; source wording: Il faut reculer pour mieux sauter.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
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