proverb · Words worth keeping
Promises are too much like pie-crusts, made to be broken.
Promises are too much like pie-crusts, made to be broken.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Promises can be fragile when they are made without care or commitment. Treat an assurance as something that needs dependable follow-through, rather than as a completed result.
Example
A organiser asks a volunteer to confirm a delivery time after several vague offers to help have left the schedule uncertain.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The pie-crust is easy to break, so it becomes an image of a promise that does not hold. Made to be broken is a cynical exaggeration, not advice to make dishonest commitments. The saying may express disappointment when repeated assurances have failed to produce action. It can also encourage clearer promises: name the task, the time and what to do if circumstances change. Trust need not disappear, but it can be informed by a person’s record and the practical conditions. A promise matters because someone may plan around it, making careless reassurance costly to the listener.
When to use it
Use it to question unreliable assurances or encourage a clearer, more realistic commitment.
Keep in mind
Not every broken promise was dishonest; unexpected events may require an explanation and a revised arrangement.
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