Locking the Stable Door after the Horse has Bolted
Meaning: Taking precautions after damage has already been done; being wise after the event.
Examples in Literature:
- Literary Reference: “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” — William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Synonyms:
- Closing the barn door after the horse is out.
- After the event.
- Too little, too late.
Antonyms:
- Prevention is better than cure.
- Forewarned is forearmed.
Famous Quotes:
- “He locked the stable door while they were putting the cart before the horse.” — Stanley Walker, The Uncanny Knacks of Mr. Doherty.
- “Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.” — Billy Wilder, The Summer of ’42.
Inspirational thought: “Live as if you were that horse that found the door open – keep running forward even if the world decides to close the hatch behind you.”
Humor Corner:
- “Of course, I changed my password after my account got hacked. It’s like fixing the leaky faucet once the house has flooded.”
- “Let’s install the antivirus on the office computers. Right after everyone recovers from the malware.”
Did You Know?
🧐 This proverb existed in a French collection as early as 1190! Clearly, even our medieval ancestors struggled with procrastination and late problem-solving.
Literary Recommendations:
- The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (Ever noticed how it takes an entire play for the characters to realize what should have been obvious?)
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Overflowing with characters who embody the proverb perfectly.)
Movie to Watch:
- Groundhog Day (1993) – Where living the same day over and over forces one to learn from mistakes after they’ve been made—repeatedly!
Poetry to Ponder:
- Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”. Not directly about belated actions, but rich with the sense of looking back at choices.
Quizzes
Closing Thought:
“May we learn to keep the stable door shut, but when we don’t, may we forgive the horse and ourselves—and remember to build better stable doors in the future.”
With wisdom and wit, A. Sage Remark
