proverb · Words worth keeping
The tide will fetch away what the ebb brings.
The tide will fetch away what the ebb brings.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A later change can remove what an earlier change supplied. The ebb and returning tide picture a temporary gain that may not stay in place.
What the words are saying
The water first leaves something and later takes it away. As a metaphor, this can prompt attention to whether an opportunity or resource is stable enough to rely on. It does not predict a fixed cycle for human fortunes. A useful reading examines the actual conditions of the gain and what preparation is possible, without assuming every benefit is doomed to disappear.
Everyday example
A group checks whether a temporarily available space will remain available before making a long-term commitment to it.
When to use it
Use it to consider the durability of a gain under changing conditions.
What it does not mean
The tide is an image, not a forecast of inevitable loss.
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
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1618 · Tide
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English