There’s not enough if there’s not too much.
There’s not enough if there’s not too much.
Meaning in plain English
The paradox that enough requires too much questions how a margin is judged. It may picture wanting surplus or preparing beyond an exact minimum.
Example
An organiser explains why a few spare name cards are useful, without ordering several unused boxes simply to feel prepared.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Enough and too much are normally opposed, so their combination makes the demand for sufficiency uneasy. A useful reading asks whether a spare allowance serves an identifiable contingency or whether the desired amount keeps increasing without a reason. The proverb does not establish that excess is necessary in every situation. Needs, uncertainty and waste must be considered separately before calling either the minimum or the surplus appropriate.
When to use it
Use it to examine whether a surplus has a specific purpose.
Keep in mind
A margin needs justification; the paradox does not make waste necessary.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 5; French section, paragraph 103; source wording: Assez n’y a si trop n’y a.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗