OT: Does a stitch in time save nine?

Stitches, of course. Replace a single failed stitch, immediately, and you save having to repair the whole unraveled seam.

It depends on the person who you are talking to.

Baseball players: (players on a team) A stitched ball over the long run leads to the success of a baseball team. Surgeons: (lives) Properly stitching wounds will eventually save lives. Runners: (seconds) Learning to ignore stitches (sharp pains in the side) can knock 9 seconds or more off your time. Tailors: (more stitches) A stitch made now will save making nine stitches later (when the seam begins to unravel). Disney: The Stitch (tm 2002) character is the sole property of the Disney Corporation. Further use of his name or likeness will lead to legal action.

--Dogstar

Somebody claiming to be "Rich Grise, Plainclothes Hippie" wrote at Sun, 24 Sep 2006 00:44:39 GMT:

Nine more stitches.

Better to ask in alt.english.usage (So I'll cross-post you there.)

Surely it's this: If you repair a small defect in your clothing with a stitch as soon as you notice it, you avoid the need to use nine stitches after the delay turns the "one-stitch defect" into a "nine-stitch defect"

Therefore "nine stitches with a needle and thread."

LOL

Yes. You've understood the saying.

From _Longmans Dictionary of English Idioms_

"a stitch in time saves nine"

damage quickly worsens if it is not repaired; the mending of a fault as soon as it it noticed will save much time, cost, and trouble.

... snip ...

Not necessarily. Lazy types such as myself find that many problems are self-repairing and/or become trivial if left to fester indefinitely.

It's not a deep reference to string theory?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

There's the other formulation, "if you ignore problems, many of them go away on their own."

John

In 1920 Landis banned

Cicotte Williams Weaver Gandil McMullin Risberg Felsch Jackson

It was immaterial to Gandil, the ringleader, who had retired on his ill-gained fortune. Weaver and Jackson were banned for not being informants.

Before the scandal broke, an informant got word to the owner that the following had no knowledge of the plot:

Shalk Eddie Collins Shano Collins Leibold Lynn Murphy Kerr Faber Lowdermilk

The headline read, "A SNITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE."

On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 13:18:10 -0400, John Larkin wrote (in article ):

A classmate who eventually earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering had exactly that as his philosophy of automobile maintenance.

That's why he got to be a PhD, not a motor mechanic!

Especially if the problem is a person.

Mentioning the black sox would make that post more understandable.

John Larkin wrote: [...]

Not "many": all. It's called "death".

Mind, some people remain interested in how problems develop prior to their final departure from our active consideration.