proverb · Words worth keeping
'Tis too late, to spare when the bottom is bare.
'Tis too late, to spare when the bottom is bare.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Saving cannot preserve a resource once it has already been exhausted. The bare bottom of a container makes the warning about timing concrete.
Example
A group checks its remaining materials before planning another activity instead of waiting until the cupboard is empty.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The saying places restraint after the point at which there is anything left to conserve. It can encourage reviewing use before a supply runs out, rather than treating a late intention as equivalent to earlier care. Yet shortage may arise despite careful management, and people in need may require help rather than blame. A useful reading asks what can still be done and how a future supply might be managed differently.
When to use it
Use it to consider conservation while a resource is still available.
Keep in mind
Exhausted resources do not necessarily show wastefulness, and present need still deserves assistance.
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