proverb · Words worth keeping
Patience is a plaister for all sores.
Patience is a plaister for all sores.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Patience can soften the discomfort of delay or difficulty. The plaster image presents it as a help, while the claim that it treats every sore is an exaggeration.
What the words are saying
The saying places patience over troubles as a plaster might cover a sore. Its useful insight concerns how a measured response can prevent frustration from adding another burden. It does not make waiting a remedy for every problem. Some situations require action, protection or help, and physical or emotional difficulties cannot be dismissed as insufficient patience. A careful reading asks whether waiting serves the situation or merely postpones a necessary response.
Everyday example
A group calmly allows time for an agreed reply, while keeping a clear point at which it will follow up.
When to use it
Use it when measured waiting can reduce avoidable frustration.
What it does not mean
Patience is not medical treatment and should not replace action against harm.
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 1215 · Patience
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English