haste makes waste

H

haste makes waste

Meaning

• if you do things too quickly, you can make mistakes
• hurrying will result in poor endings
• you will make mistakes if you are too hasty
• rushing through things causes errors, resulting in time, efforts, resources, etc being wasted
• doing things too quickly will result in bad finishing

Example Sentences

1. Try not to rush through things, even though you are in a hurry. After all, haste makes waste.
2. You need to check these files carefully. Do not try to finish them too quickly – remember, haste makes waste.
3. If you try to finish off your work in a hurry, you might end up making a lot of mistakes and then you would have to redo it. Haste makes waste, you know.
4. I’d rather miss the deadline and submit a good report than rush through it and make one full of errors. After all, haste makes waste.
5. Be careful while checking the papers. Haste makes waste, so check them thoroughly before submitting them.

Origin
The idea that haste is counterproductive is an ancient one and can be found in the Book of Wisdom in 190 BC. This exact phrase, however, occurs much later and the first recorded instance is in 1575. It is also found in John Ray’s 1678 proverb collection.