Fortune is a woman; if you neglect her to-day, expect not to regain her to-morrow.
Fortune is a woman; if you neglect her to-day, expect not to regain her to-morrow.
Meaning in plain English
An opportunity passed over today may be unavailable tomorrow. The warning encourages timely assessment, while its gendered personification should not be mistaken for a claim about women.
Example
A student checks the terms of a suitable course before its application date rather than assuming a place will remain available.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Fortune is presented as someone who may not return after being neglected. The useful reading concerns the limited duration of an opportunity: postponing attention can change the choices available later. Consider a genuine deadline and the consequences of acting or waiting. The image does not make every urgent offer worthwhile, nor does it require choosing before essential information is available. The comparison with a woman belongs to the historical wording, not to an explanation of any gender’s behaviour. Assess the opportunity itself rather than the personification.
When to use it
Use it to prompt timely attention to a real, understood opportunity.
Keep in mind
Manufactured urgency can pressure poor decisions; verify the deadline and do not endorse the gender stereotype.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 29; French section, paragraph 566; source wording: La fortune est une femme; si vous la manquez aujourd’hui, ne vous attendez pas à la retrouver demain.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗