For Want of a Nail (Proverb)

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"For Want of a Nail" is a proverbial rhyme showing that small actions can result in large consequences.

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
 For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
 For want of a horse the rider was lost.
 For want of a rider the battle was lost.
 For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
 And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

[edit] Analysis

A horseshoe nail
A horseshoe nail
Variation

For want of a nail the shoe was lost,
 for want of a shoe the horse was lost,
 for want of a horse the knight was lost,
 for want of a knight the battle was lost.
 So it was a kingdom was lost - all for want of a nail.
-JLA: The Nail
DC Comics, 1988

This proverb has been around in many forms for centuries (see history below), and describes a situation where permitting some small undesirable situation will allow gradual and inexorable worsening. The rhyme is thus a good illustration of the "The butterfly effect", and ideas presented in chaos theory, involving sensitive dependence on initial conditions; the initial condition being the presence or absence of the horseshoe nail.[1]

An important thing to note is that these chains of causality are only ever seen in hindsight. Nobody ever lamented, upon seeing his unshod horse, that the kingdom would eventually fall because of it.[1]

A somewhat similar idea is referred to in the metaphor known as The Camel's nose.

[edit] History

The proverb is found in a number of forms, starting as early back as the 14th century:

Variation

For want of a nail the shoe was lost,
 for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
 and for want of a horse the rider was lost;
 being overtaken and slain by the enemy,
 all for want of care about a horse-shoe nail.
-Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanac
  • Cf. late 15th-cent. Fr. par ung seul clou perd on ung bon cheval, by just one nail one loses a good horse;.(c 1390 Gower Confessio Amantis v. 4785).[2]
  • For sparinge of a litel cost Fulofte time a man hath lost The large cote for the hod [hood].(Unknown)[2]
  • The French-men haue a military prouerbe, The losse of a nayle, the losse of an army. The want of a nayle looseth the shooe, the losse of shooe troubles the horse, the horse indangereth the rider, the rider breaking his ranke molests the company, so farre as to hazard the whole Army. (1629 T. Adams Works 714)[2]
  • For want of a naile the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost. (1640 G. Herbert Outlandish Proverbs no. 499)[2]
  • ‘Don't care’ was the man who was to blame for the well-known catastrophe: ‘For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, and for want of a horse the man was lost.’ (1880 S. Smiles Duty x.)[2]
Variation

A little neglect may breed mischief ...
 for want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
 for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
 and for want of a horse the rider was lost.
-Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanac, preface (1758)
  • You bring your long-tailed shovel, an' I'll bring me navvy [device for excavating earth]. We mighten' want them, an', then agen, we might: for want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, an' for want of a horse the man was lost—aw, that's a darlin' proverb, a daarlin'.(1925 S. O'casey Juno & Paycock i. 16)[2]
  • During World War II, this verse was framed and hung on the wall of the Anglo-American Supply Headquarters in London, England.[4]
  • No detail... was too small to be passed over....‘For want of a nail,’ as the proverb said. (1979 M. Mccarthy Missionaries & Cannibals viii.)[2]
  • For want of nail the battle was lost. Well, Republicans may have found just the right nail to win the entitlement battle. (1995 National Review 12 June 10)[2]

[edit] Modern literary references

[edit] Modern cinematic references

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, June 1758, The Complete Poor Richard Almanacks, facsimile ed., vol. 2, pp. 375, 377
  • G. Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, c. 1640, no. 499
  • Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and Peter Opie, Oxford 1951, pg 324

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b For want of a nail@Everything2.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Proverbs: For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the man was lost at answers.com
  3. ^ Franklin, Benjamin quote - For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was
  4. ^ a b For want of a nail rhyme
  5. ^ The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) - Memorable quotes

[edit] External links