Time and straw make medlars ripe.

Medlars are a fruit that is not ready to eat when first gathered, and the saying says that time and straw together make them ready. The lesson is that something unready now may become good with time and the right conditions. Because it names two things, the patience it recommends is waiting while providing what the process needs, not simply waiting.

The saying does not claim that everything improves with time, or that time alone is enough: it names straw as well as time, so neglect is not what it recommends. It fits things that are already on their way to readiness, and it is misapplied to something that is simply unsuitable, which no amount of waiting will change. It also gives no measure of how long is long enough.

Its present-day currency is not established, but someone might use it about a person, plan or piece of work that is not yet ready but is developing, such as a new employee still learning, a student who has not yet found their footing or a project in its early stages. It can reassure an impatient manager, parent or teacher that readiness takes time and support. A listener who has never seen a medlar may need the image explained, and said of someone who is struggling without help, it may sound like an excuse for leaving them alone.