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A bird in the hand

Posted by ESC on August 26, 2002

In Reply to: Could you please give me the meaning of a proverb? posted by Anita on August 26, 2002

: Hi,
: My name is Anita. I am a ten year old girl studying in grade 5. Please help me by giving the meaning of the proverb "A bird in hand is worth two in a bush".

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush - "It's better to possess something real right now than to count on finding something better in the future. The proverb is similar to the thirteenth century Latin: Plus valet in manibus avis unica quam dupla silvis (A bird in the hands is worth more than two in the woods.) It has been traced back to the 'Life of St. Katharine' (c. 1450) by J. Capgrave." From Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

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