- English translation
A threadbare garment never falls apart as long as someone is there to mend it.
- Literal wording
A worn thing does not wear away while behind it there is a patcher.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures an old, thin garment that keeps its shape because someone keeps patching it. Its lesson is that diligent upkeep and sensible management can preserve what seems close to ruin, so neglect, not age alone, is what finally wears things out.
Applied to people and affairs, it credits the careful manager: when a capable person stands behind a household, a livelihood, or a fragile situation and keeps tending it, matters stay in order. It praises resourceful stewardship over waste.
- When it is used
Suitable for praising someone who keeps an aging household, business, or arrangement going through steady repair and careful management, or for urging attention to small fixes before things collapse. It also suits reassurance that worn resources can last when someone looks after them.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic proverb
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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