proverb · Words worth keeping
It takes time to build castles.
It takes time to build castles.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Building castles takes time in this image of a substantial undertaking. The saying asks for patience with work that has stages.
What the words are saying
The large construction contrasts an ambitious result with the duration required to produce it. A useful application considers actual tasks, resources and dependencies rather than using time alone to excuse delay. The phrase gives no building method or proof that every lengthy undertaking is valuable.
Everyday example
A team sets out the stages of a large project instead of expecting a finished result immediately.
When to use it
Use it to discuss realistic stages and expectations for substantial work.
What it does not mean
No exact completion time or guarantee that patience alone achieves the result is supplied.
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 840; PDF page 118
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.