- English translation
If one tool cannot set something right, another—perhaps stronger—can.
- Literal wording
What the adze cannot handle, the saw can handle.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying expresses confidence that a stubborn problem can still be corrected by finding the method suited to it. Failure with one approach does not prove that the matter is beyond remedy.
It also implies escalation when gentler measures have not worked: a firmer intervention may accomplish what a milder one could not. Its tool imagery can sound severe when applied to people or personal disputes, so it need not endorse force for its own sake.
- When it is used
Used when an initial attempt has failed and someone proposes a different, more decisive way to resolve a difficult matter. It may encourage persistence, but in interpersonal contexts its language of increasing force can make a call for stricter action sound harsh.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: If one tool cannot set something right, another—perhaps stronger—can.