proverb · Words worth keeping
Whoso lacketh a stock, his gain's not worth a chip.
Whoso lacketh a stock, his gain's not worth a chip.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes a lack of stock render gain scarcely worth a chip. It contrasts a supporting resource with a small result judged insufficient.
What the words are saying
Stock and chip give the comparison a compact material image, but the type of stock is not defined. A qualified application asks what resource an undertaking needs before its returns can become useful. It does not provide a financial calculation or claim that people without assets cannot accomplish valuable work. The exact setting remains open.
Everyday example
A group identifies the materials needed for a project instead of judging only a small early result.
When to use it
Use it to examine an unspecified relation between resources and returns.
What it does not mean
The meaning of stock and the economic claim are not independently established here.
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 1533 · Stock
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English