proverb · Legacy record
Promises are like the full moon, if they are not kept at once they diminish day by day.
Promises are like the full moon, if they are not kept at once they diminish day by day.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Promises compared with a full moon diminishing over time picture delayed fulfilment losing force. The image concerns a commitment’s credibility or value to its recipient.
What the words are saying
At once makes the expectation immediate, but many promises concern a later agreed occasion. A qualified interpretation distinguishes unexplained delay from an arrangement not yet due. The moon is an image rather than a scientific timeline or proof that trust decreases at a fixed rate.
Everyday example
Someone communicates about a delayed commitment rather than letting uncertainty undermine the agreed arrangement.
When to use it
Use it to discuss fulfilment and unexplained delay with the actual due time checked.
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What it does not mean
No immediate deadline for every promise or measured rate of lost trust is established.
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
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 954; PDF page 133
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.