The law of holes, or the first law of holes, is an adage which states: "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." It is used as a metaphor, warning that when in an untenable position, it is best to stop making the situation worse. [1] [2]
The law of holes, or the first law of holes, is an adage which states: "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." It is used as a metaphor, warning that when in an untenable position, it is best to stop making the situation worse. [1] [2]
When it is said, "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging", [3] [4] [1] [5] it is because digging a hole makes it deeper and therefore harder to get out of. More generally, the adage advises how one should solve problems of their own making.
The second law of holes is commonly known as: "when you stop digging, you are still in a hole." [6]
The adage has been attributed to a number of sources. It appeared in print on page six of The Washington Post dated 25 October 1911, in the form: "Nor would a wise man, seeing that he was in a hole, go to work and blindly dig it deeper..." [7] [8]
In 1983, Bill Brock was quoted "Let me tell you about the law of holes: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." [9]
In the United Kingdom, it has been referred to as "Healey's first law of holes" [4] after politician Denis Healey, who used the adage in the 1980s and later. [3]
An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on factual information concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms.
A hole is a hollow place, an opening in/through a solid body, or an excavation in the ground.
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