For Want of a Nail

For the alternate history novel, see For Want of a Nail (novel).

For the short story, see For Want of a Nail (short story).

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

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"For want of a nail" is a proverb, having numerous variations over several centuries, reminding that seemingly unimportant acts or omissions can have grave and unforeseen consequences through a domino effect.

History

Variation

A little neglect may breed mischief...
For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
and for want of a horse the rider was lost,
being overtaken and slain by the enemy,
all for want of care about a horse-shoe nail.

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Short Variation

For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe the horse was lost;
For want of a horse the battle was lost;
For the failure of battle the kingdom was lost;—
All for the want of a horse-shoe nail.

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The proverb is found in a number of forms. Benjamin Franklin included a version in his Poor Richard's Almanack (1758), but over a century earlier, the poet George Herbert included it in a 1640 collection of aphorisms. ^{[4] [5] [6]} Predecessors include the following:

• Middle High German (positively formulated): Diz ſagent uns die wîſen, ein nagel behalt ein îſen, ein îſen ein ros, ein ros ein man, ein man ein burc, der ſtrîten kan. ("The wise tell us that a nail keeps a shoe, a shoe a horse, a horse a man, a man a castle, that can fight.") ^[7]
• For sparinge of a litel cost, Fulofte time a man hath lost, The large cote for the hod. ("For sparing a little cost often a man has lost the large coat for the hood.") ^{[8] [ whose translation? ] [9]}
• Middle French: Par ung seul clou perd on ung bon cheval. (Modern French: Par seulement un clou, on perd un bon cheval.; English: "By just one nail one loses a good horse.") (c 1507 Jean Molinet, Faictz Dictz D., v768). ^{[9] [10]}
• "The French-men haue a military prouerbe; 'The losse of a nayle, the losse of an army'. The want of a nayle looseth the shooe, the losse of shooe troubles the horse, the horse indangereth the rider, the rider breaking his ranke molests the company, so farre as to hazard the whole Army". (1629 Thomas Adams (clergyman), "The Works of Thomas Adams: The Sum of His Sermons, Meditations, And Other Divine And Moral Discourses", p. 714") ^{[9] [11]}

Further reading

• Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, June 1758, The Complete Poor Richards Almanacks, facsimile ed., vol. 2, pp. 375, 377
• G. Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, c. 1640, no. 499
• Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and Peter Opie, Oxford 1951, p. 324

References

1. Franklin, Benjamin (1758). "Poor Richard Improved" – via Founders Online.
2. Franklin, Benjamin (1795). The Way to Wealth. Paris: Ant. Aug. Renouard. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
3. Baldwin, James (1912). "The Horseshoe Nails". Fifty Famous People: A Book of Short Stories. American Book Company. pp. 51–54.
4. Speake, Jennifer (23 October 2008). A Dictionary of Proverbs. OUP Oxford. ISBN   978-0-19-158001-7.
5. Manser, Martin H.; Fergusson, Rosalind (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs. Infobase Publishing. ISBN   978-0-8160-6673-5.
6. Keyes, Ralph (1 April 2007). The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 69. ISBN   978-1-4299-0617-3.
7. Freidank; Grimm, Wilhelm (1834) [c. 1230]. Vridankes Bescheidenheit (in Middle High German). Dieterich. p. XCVIII. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
8. Gower, John (c. 1390). Confessio Amantis or Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins (in Middle English). book 5 part 3 line 4785. Retrieved 6 October 2024– via Medieval and Classical Literature Library.
9. Proverbs: For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the man was lost at answers.com
10. Dictionnaire du Moyen Français Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 20100402)
11. Adamn, Thomas (1629). The Works of Thomas Adams: The Sum of His Sermons, Meditations, And Other Divine And Moral Discourses. London: Thomas Harper and Augustine Matthews for John Grismand. p. 714. ISBN   9780404003531 . Retrieved 2 April 2010.