A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Meaning in plain English
A benefit you already possess may be worth more than a larger benefit you only hope to obtain. Weigh a secure result against the chance of losing it.
Example
A freelancer considers keeping a signed contract rather than cancelling it for a larger project that has not yet been approved.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The bird held in the hand is certain, while the birds in the bush may escape. The comparison concerns risk, not simply quantity: two possible gains are not automatically better than one confirmed gain. The saying can help when choosing between a reliable offer and a speculative opportunity. It does not mean that you should always reject risk or settle for less. The likelihood of success, the cost of failure and your ability to recover all matter. Its strongest use is to challenge plans that treat an uncertain reward as if it were already secured.
When to use it
Use it when comparing a confirmed benefit with a larger uncertain prospect.
Keep in mind
Safe options can carry opportunity costs; the proverb is a prompt to assess risk, not a universal rule.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-03. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- Familiar Quotations, ninth edition (1905 printing)
Don Quixote. Part i. Book iv. Chap. iv.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- attributed · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- c. 1581 AD · renaissance
author lifetime midpoint; not composition date. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗
The voice behind the words.
Listed in the author section of Bartlett’s ninth-edition anthology, in the linked 1905 printing. Dates reflect that historical edition and may differ from modern scholarship.
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