measure twice and cut once

English

Alternative forms

• measure twice, cut once
• check twice and do once

Proverb

measure twice and cut once

1. (carpentry, literally) One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material.
   • 1872, “Dressmaking”, in Hall's Journal of Health, volume 19, number 12, page 280:

     Look at Carpenters! . . . In old times it was a proverb "Measure twice, and cut once."

2. (figuratively, by extension) Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action.
   • 2008 November 9, Hilary Johnson, “Mergers rattle bank relations”, in Financial Week, retrieved 9 Nov. 2008:

     Mr. Paz noted that since the onset of the credit crisis, eBay, like other companies, hasn’t been able to "measure twice and cut once."

Translations

plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.

• Czech: dvakrát měř, jednou řež (cs)
• Estonian: üheksa korda mõõda, üks kord lõika (literally “measure nine times, cut once”)
• Finnish: hyvin suunniteltu on puoliksi tehty, hyvin suunniteltu on puoleksi tehty
• French: mesurer deux fois, couper une fois
• German: zweimal messen, einmal schneiden
• Kazakh: жеті рет өлшеп, бір рет кес (jetı ret ölşep, bır ret kes)
• Korean: 두번 재고, 한번에 잘라라. (dubeon jaego, hanbeone jallara.)
• Lithuanian: devynis kartus pamatuok – dešimtą kirpk (literally “measure nine times, cut the tenth”)
• Mongolian: долоо хэмжиж нэг огтол (doloo xemžiž neg ogtol)
• Romanian: de șapte ori măsoară, o dată taie, măsoară de zece ori și taie o dată
• Russian: семь раз отме́рь, оди́н отре́жь (semʹ raz otmérʹ, odín otréžʹ, literally “measure seven times, cut once”)
• Spanish: mide dos veces y corta una sola vez
• Swedish: måtta två gånger, hugg en
• Turkish: iki ölç, bir biç