better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

English

Etymology

Calque of Latin ad praesens ova cras pullis sunt meliora, from Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais.

Proverb

better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

1. It is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later.

   Synonyms: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, take the cash and let the credit go

Translations

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush — see a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

See also

• sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage