A small leak will sink a great ship.

What it means

Big things fail through small neglects. A habit, a debt or a lie left unattended can take down a whole life. Fix the small leaks while they are small.

The source

"A small leak will sink a great ship." This Scottish proverb is recorded in Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland (3rd ed.), p. 42. Translated by Original Scots (Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland, 1862).

"A sma' leak will sink a great ship."

Original Scots (Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland, 1862), Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland (3rd ed.), p. 42. Text read at archive.org.

Who said it

Proverbs of the world (Every age). Sayings from the Latin, Greek, Norse, Japanese, Chinese and more, each traced to an old source in its own language.

Questions

What does "A small leak will sink a great ship." mean?

Big things fail through small neglects. A habit, a debt or a lie left unattended can take down a whole life. Fix the small leaks while they are small.

Who said "A small leak will sink a great ship."?

Scottish proverb. Source: Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland (3rd ed.), p. 42.

What is the original wording?

A sma' leak will sink a great ship (Original Scots (Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland, 1862)). Translated by Original Scots (Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland, 1862).

Is "A small leak will sink a great ship." on a shirt?

Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

"A small leak will sink a great ship." (Scottish proverb, Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland (3rd ed.), p. 42, trans. Original Scots (Hislop, The Proverbs of Scotland, 1862)). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/a-small-leak-will-sink-a-great-ship