proverb · Words worth keeping
Well-drawn wells give the sweetest water.
Well-drawn wells give the sweetest water.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying gives the sweetest water to wells that are well drawn. It links the manner of obtaining a resource with the quality imagined to result.
What the words are saying
Well-drawn makes care in use or drawing appear to matter, though the exact practice is unstated. A qualified analogy can concern attention to a process improving an experience. The verse does not verify water quality, safety or a specific way to maintain a well. Its praise of sweetness should not be confused with evidence that water is suitable to drink.
Everyday example
A reader identifies the praised practice while refusing to treat taste or the rhyme as proof of water safety.
When to use it
Use it as a qualified analogy about care in obtaining a resource.
What it does not mean
The process is undefined, and the saying is not water-safety guidance.
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 1753 · Wells
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English