More haste, less speed

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Meaning

Rushing a task often delays success by causing mistakes or wasted effort. Usually offered as practical advice. The apparent paradox is clearer when 'speed' is understood as successful progress. Regional use: General British English, with a long Scots proverbial tradition.

Origin

The proverb depends on an older sense of 'speed' meaning success or effective progress, not merely velocity. A related Scots warning occurs in the medieval Troy Book, and John Heywood printed 'the more haste, the less speed' in 1546. Scots retained forms such as 'the mair haste, the waur speed.'

Research Sources

  1. More haste, less speed Phrase Finder
  2. Haste The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable via Encyclopedia.com

Variants

  • The more haste, the less speed
  • The mair haste, the waur speed

Usage Examples

  • Check the measurements before cutting; more haste, less speed.
  • The crew rushed the loading and had to begin again: the more haste, the less speed.
  • The mair haste, the waur speed, warned the mason as the mortar slipped.

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