Slow but steady wins the race
Posted by ESC on July 09, 2003
In Reply to: Day to day posted by Word Camel on July 09, 2003
: : : : : Hi everybody. I have a question if you could help me with. In my native language there is an expression which can be translated in "word by word" way, like "from today to tommorow".
: : : : : This is used, for instance, when someone wants to express that he barely has enough to make a living and it is like "he lives from today to tommorow".
: : : : : Another usage would be when expressing that nothing can be steadily learnt too easy or too fast, so it is used like "nothing can be learnt from today to tommorow".
: : : : : Hoping that I managed to make myself clear, I would appreciate if anybody tell me some similar English expressions, and I mean some well-known sayings.
: : : : : Thanks in advance!
: : : : : Regards
: : : : : iulian
: : : :
: : : : "Living hand to mouth", or "living paycheck to paycheck" are English expressions that describe a situation where a person is struggling to make a living.
: : : : "Rome was not built in a day" is an expression used to convey the idea that a task can not be quickly accomplished.
: : : He doesn't know where his next meal is coming from.
: : "One day at a time" is a popular expression to describe the way to cope with a difficult situation that will exist for a long time or forever.
:
: You can also say almost the same thing exactly in English. "After the money ran out he lived from day to day."
: For the other thing you describe there is another English expression that is very close. "Studying astrophysics was overwhelming but Jon took it one day at a time." It implies that the task is difficult and must be taken slowly.
How about:
"Slow but steady wins the race." Consistent, effective effort leads to success. This is the moral of one of Aesop's fables, "The Tortoise and the Hare." (The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. www.bartleby.com/
59/3/slowbutstead.html )