He who hesitates is lost

A person who spends too much time deliberating about what to do loses the chance to act altogether.

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Idioms and Phrases

One who cannot come to a decision will suffer for it, as in I couldn't make up my mind, and now the offer has expired—he who hesitates is lost . Although the idea is undoubtedly older, the present wording is a misquotation or an adaptation from Joseph Addison's play Cato (1712): “The woman that deliberates is lost.”

Word of the Day

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

hewers of wood and drawers of water He who laughs last, laughs best

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