proverb · Words worth keeping
Short reckonings are soon cleared.
Short reckonings are soon cleared.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Small or promptly addressed accounts are easier to settle than accumulated ones. Short reckonings picture the value of resolving obligations before they become tangled.
What the words are saying
A reckoning asks what is owed or still unsettled. Keeping it short can mean dealing with matters regularly and clearly rather than allowing uncertainty to grow. The saying can apply to practical obligations or recurring disagreements, but it does not require an instant answer to every complex issue. A useful reading encourages clarity and timely attention, while allowing the evidence and circumstances enough time to be understood.
Everyday example
Housemates discuss a small shared expense promptly so that no one has to reconstruct months of unclear arrangements.
When to use it
Use it to encourage clear, timely settlement of a manageable obligation.
What it does not mean
Complex disputes may require time, and quick settlement is not necessarily fair settlement.
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 1432 · Short reckonings
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English