proverb · Words worth keeping
Always have two strings to your bow.
Always have two strings to your bow.
In print by 1893 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Keep an alternative available when a plan depends on something that may fail. Two strings represent a reserve option, encouraging preparation rather than confidence that one route will always remain usable.
What the words are saying
A bow with only one usable string becomes ineffective if that string fails. The extra string therefore stands for a practical alternative kept ready before it is needed. Applied to planning, the saying encourages attention to a point of dependence and a workable way around it. A backup need not duplicate every part of the original arrangement; it should address a plausible difficulty. Maintaining alternatives also takes time and resources, so preparation should remain proportionate. The proverb is most useful when it identifies a specific vulnerability, rather than encouraging endless contingency plans or preventing a reasonable choice from being made.
Everyday example
A workshop organiser prints a short outline in case the projector is unavailable.
When to use it
Use it to discuss a proportionate backup plan.
What it does not mean
Preparing alternatives should not become endless avoidance of commitment.
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 proverb
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1893 AD · industrial
In print by 1893: recorded in Dictionary of Quotations (1893). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Pr. · page_011
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.