Time and tide wait for no man

Suggest a Correction

Meaning

Time and natural events continue regardless of anyone's wishes or delay. Man is generic in the traditional wording; no one is a common inclusive modernization. Regional use: English proverb with Middle English precursors; now widespread.

Origin

This proverb has medieval building blocks rather than a secure medieval occurrence of the exact sentence. A line in the early thirteenth-century St Marher joins tide and time but does not say that they wait for nobody. Chaucer's Clerk's Tale more directly says that time flies and will no man abide. Later English combined those ideas into the familiar formula. Tide in older English could mean a time or season, although modern listeners also naturally hear the sea's tide. The St Marher line should be treated as a verbal precursor, not a quotation of the whole proverb.

Research Sources

  1. Phrase Finder: Time and tide wait for no man Phrase Finder
  2. Cambridge Dictionary: time and tide wait for no man Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  3. Harvard Chaucer: The Clerk's Prologue and Tale Harvard University

Variants

  • Time and tide wait for no one

Usage Examples

  • Submit the application today; time and tide wait for no man.
  • The harbourmaster reminded us that time and tide wait for no one.
  • She stopped postponing the journey because time and tide wait for no man.

Keep Exploring

Browse all phrases