proverb · Words worth keeping
Perseverance kills the game.
Perseverance kills the game.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Sustained effort can bring an elusive task to completion. The hunting image presents the desired result as something reached through persistence.
Example
A learner revisits a difficult passage with different examples until its argument becomes clearer.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Game is pictured as the object of a pursuit, and perseverance supplies the effort needed to finish it. In a broader editorial reading, the line praises returning to a worthwhile task despite setbacks. It can encourage patient practice or careful investigation rather than expecting an immediate result. Persistence is valuable only in relation to a suitable purpose and method; repeating a failed approach indefinitely is not automatically progress. The hunting language is figurative here, not a recommendation to harm an animal or person.
When to use it
Use it to recognise sustained, adaptable effort toward a worthwhile result.
Keep in mind
Persistence does not guarantee success, and the goal or method may need to change.
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