proverb · Words worth keeping
Utility is preferable to grandeur.
Utility is preferable to grandeur.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Usefulness can matter more than impressive appearance or scale. The saying directs attention toward what something helps people do.
What the words are saying
Utility and grandeur are placed in competition, with practical benefit favoured. This can encourage choosing a modest solution that serves an actual need rather than one selected mainly for display. Beauty, ceremony and ambition can also have value, so the contrast should not become a rejection of them in every setting. A useful application asks who benefits and whether the impressive feature contributes to the purpose.
Everyday example
A group chooses a clear, usable reading space over elaborate decoration that would make the text harder to see.
When to use it
Use it to compare practical benefit with display in a particular decision.
What it does not mean
Beauty and symbolic importance can be useful too; context matters.
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 1694 · Utility
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English