proverb · Words worth keeping
An old sack wanteth much patching.
An old sack wanteth much patching.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Something long used may need repeated repair. The worn sack gives maintenance a concrete image and suggests the limits of simply patching an ageing arrangement.
What the words are saying
A sack that has served for a long time can be pictured as needing attention at several weak points. The saying can describe a tool, a process or an arrangement whose continued usefulness depends on repair. It may prompt comparison between another patch and a more thorough change. Its application should concern what is actually worn or failing, not a blanket judgment on old things. When applied to people, the metaphor is especially limited and must not turn age into a verdict that someone is defective.
Everyday example
A group reviews whether repeated fixes to an unreliable process are enough or whether its design needs reconsidering.
When to use it
Use it to discuss maintenance of a specifically worn object or arrangement.
What it does not mean
Age alone does not imply poor quality, and people should not be treated as faulty equipment.
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
- Not established
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
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1183 · Old sack
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English