proverb · Words worth keeping
A tight cord is near snapping.
A tight cord is near snapping.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A tight cord near snapping makes excessive tension an image of approaching failure. The saying asks whether a burden is becoming unsustainable.
What the words are saying
The image is not an engineering calculation or a clinical prediction. A useful social application notices demands, asks about limits and adjusts conditions before assuming endurance is unlimited. It does not establish that every demanding situation will break someone or blame a person who needs support.
Everyday example
A group reduces an excessive workload after listening to the people carrying it.
When to use it
Use it as a qualified excessive-pressure image, not a physical safety test.
What it does not mean
No failure threshold or diagnosis from tension is established.
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
Denmark
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
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 731; PDF page 68; collection label: Denmark
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Denmark