- English translation
Talk is like a woollen rope: the more you pull on it, the longer it gets.
- Literal wording
Speech is like a rope of wool; every time you pull it, it stretches.
- Meaning and lesson
Conversation has no fixed length of its own. Like a rope spun from wool, which gives and lengthens whenever it is tugged, talk keeps extending as long as someone keeps drawing it out, with one point leading naturally into the next.
The saying therefore places the length of a discussion in the hands of the people having it. Anyone who wants to prolong a topic will always find more to say, so ending it is a matter of choosing to stop pulling.
- When it is used
Suitable when someone wants to wrap up a discussion before it drifts further, or when observing that a topic could run on indefinitely if anyone keeps pressing it. It can also serve as a light excuse for having talked at length, admitting the subject simply kept unspooling.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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