proverb · Words worth keeping
There’s many a slip, twixt cup and the lip.
There’s many a slip, twixt cup and the lip.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying places possible slips between a cup and a lip. It warns that a result close to completion is not yet secured.
What the words are saying
The short remaining distance makes uncertainty striking. A qualified application distinguishes expectation from confirmation without predicting that a failure must occur. The phrase should not make every final step frightening or justify endless delay.
Everyday example
A group waits for confirmation before announcing a result that is almost complete.
When to use it
Use it to discuss uncertainty before completion.
What it does not mean
A remaining step does not guarantee trouble or make every confident expectation unreasonable.
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 756; PDF page 108
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.