proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t squander opportunity.
Don’t squander opportunity.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The instruction warns against squandering an opportunity. It asks that a possible advantage not be lost through careless use or neglect.
What the words are saying
Opportunity is unspecified, so a useful application first identifies what is being offered and whether it suits the person. The phrase should not make every invitation obligatory or treat declining an unsuitable chance as waste. Choices and constraints still matter.
Everyday example
Someone assesses a useful opening and responds in time while declining a different offer that does not fit.
When to use it
Use it to discuss a suitable opportunity and a considered response.
What it does not mean
Declining a chance is not necessarily waste, and an opportunity’s value needs assessment.
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
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 233; PDF page 37
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.