For Want of a Nail (proverb)

"For Want of a Nail" is a proverbial rhyme showing that small actions can result in large consequences.

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"For want of a nail the shoe was lost."For want of a shoe the horse was lost."For want of a horse the rider was lost."For want of a rider the battle was lost."For want of a battle the kingdom was lost."And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Analysis

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"For want of a nail the shoe was lost,"for want of a shoe the horse was lost,"for want of a horse the knight was lost,"for want of a knight the battle was lost."So it was a kingdom was lost - all for want of a nail.|source=

-JLA: The Nail
"DC Comics, 1998"

This proverb has been around in many forms for centuries (see history below), and describes a situation where permitting some small undesirable situation will allow gradual and inexorable worsening. The rhyme is thus a good illustration of the "The butterfly effect", and ideas presented in chaos theory, involving sensitive dependence on initial conditions; the initial condition being the presence or absence of the horseshoe nail.

An important thing to note is that these chains of causality are only ever seen in hindsight. Nobody ever lamented, upon seeing his unshod horse, that the kingdom would eventually fall because of it. [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1097943 For want of a [e-mail] ] ]

A somewhat similar idea is referred to in the metaphor known as The Camel's nose.

Historical References

The proverb is found in a number of forms, starting as early back as the 14th century:

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"For want of a nail the shoe was lost, "for want of a shoe the horse was lost; "and for want of a horse the rider was lost; "being overtaken and slain by the enemy, "all for want of care about a horse-shoe nail.|source=

-Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanac

*Cf. late 15th-cent. Fr. par ung seul clou perd on ung bon cheval, by just one nail one loses a good horse;.(c 1390 Gower Confessio Amantis v. 4785). [http://www.answers.com/topic/for-want-of-a-nail-the-shoe-was-lost-for-want-of-a-shoe-the-horse-was-lost-and-for-want-of-a-horse-the-man-was-lost Proverbs: For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the man was lost] at answers.com]

*For sparinge of a litel cost Fulofte time a man hath lost The large cote for the hod [hood] .(Unknown)

*The French-men haue a military prouerbe, The losse of a nayle, the losse of an army. The want of a nayle looseth the shooe, the losse of shooe troubles the horse, the horse indangereth the rider, the rider breaking his ranke molests the company, so farre as to hazard the whole Army. (1629 T. Adams Works 714)

*For want of a naile the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost. (1640 George Herbert Outlandish Proverbs no. 499)

*‘Don't care’ was the man who was to blame for the well-known catastrophe: ‘For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, and for want of a horse the man was lost.’ (1880 S. Smiles Duty x.)

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"A little neglect may breed mischief ... "for want of a nail, the shoe was lost; "for want of a shoe the horse was lost; "and for want of a horse the rider was lost.|source=

-Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanac, preface (1758)

*Benjamin Franklin included a version of the rhyme in his Poor Richard's Almanack when America and England were on opposite sides during the American Revolutionary War.(Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, June 1758, The Complete Poor Richard Almanacks, facsimile ed., vol. 2, pp. 375, 377) [ [http://quotationsbook.com/quote/44535/ Franklin, Benjamin quote - For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was ] ] [http://www.rhymes.org.uk/for_want_of_a_nail.htm For want of a nail rhyme ] ]

*You bring your long-tailed shovel, an' I'll bring me navvy [device for excavating earth] . We mighten' want them, an', then agen, we might: for want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, an' for want of a horse the man was lost—aw, that's a darlin' proverb, a daarlin'.(1925 S. O'casey Juno & Paycock i. 16)

*During World War II, this verse was framed and hung on the wall of the Anglo-American Supply Headquarters in London, England.

Modern day references

Along with long history of the proverb listed above, it has continued to be referenced since the mid 20th century in modern culture. Examples include:

Literary

* is an alternate history novel published in 1973 by the American business historian Robert Sobel. The novel depicts an alternate world where the American Revolution was unsuccessful.
*Cannibals And Missionaries by Mary McCarthy quotes on page 199 "No detail... was too small to be passed over....‘For want of a nail,’ as the proverb said. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Cannibals-Missionaries-Mary-McCarthy/dp/0156153866/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222871658&sr=1-1 Amazon.com: Cannibals And Missionaries: Mary McCarthy: Books] (Retrieved on 2008-10-01)]
* is a three-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics in 1998 about the Justice League of America, using the English ("Knight") variation of the rhyme as a theme.

Musical

* Todd Rundgren's song "The Want of a Nail" from his album "Nearly Human" uses the rhyme as a metaphor for a man whose lived his entire life without love, and how, if you "multiply it a billion times" and "spread it all over the world," things fall apart.

Cinema and Television

* The movie (2006) has a Yakuza boss quoting this proverb to his nephew in Japanese. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463985/quotes The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) - Memorable quotes] ]
* In the movie The Verdict (1982) by Sidney Lumet, James Mason refers to this proverb. You can only hear the line "For the want of a shoe the horse was lost."
* The title of the season two episode of M*A*S*H, "For Want of a Boot", is adapted from the proverb. The episode's concept itself is also based on the proverb, with the character of Hawkeye going through a convoluted process involving several camp personnel, in order to get a new boot.

Political

*For want of nail the battle was lost. Well, Republicans may have found just the right nail to win the entitlement battle. (1995 National Review 12 June 10)

ee also

*Camel's nose
*Causality
*Chaos theory
*Butterfly Effect
*Proverb
*Folklore
*Rhyme
*Alliteration
*Parallelism

Bibliography

*Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, June 1758, The Complete Poor Richard Almanacks, facsimile ed., vol. 2, pp. 375, 377
*G. Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, c. 1640, no. 499
*Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and Peter Opie, Oxford 1951, pg 324

References

External links

* [http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/nursery_rhymes/for_want_of_a_nail.htm Famous Quotes UK] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)
* [http://www.rhymes.org.uk/for_want_of_a_nail.htm Rhymes.org.uk "For want of a Nail Rhyme"] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)
* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1097943 "For want of a nail" at Everything2.com] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)
* [http://www.butterflystation.net/station/page.htm The Lorenz Butterfly] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)
* [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-2638%28198001%2940%3A1%3C50%3AFWOAN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0&size=SMALL&origin=JSTOR-reducePage JSTOR:For Want of a Nail, E. J. Lowe, Analysis, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan., 1980), pp. 50-52] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins200404090733.asp James S. Robbins on 9/11 Commission published April 09, 2004 by National Review Online "For want of a nail:Lady Condoleezza on the battle of the Saracens."] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)
* [http://www.enotes.com/famous-quotes/a-little-neglect-may-breed-mischief-for-want-of-a Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), U.S. statesman, writer. Poor Richard’s Almanac, preface (1758).] (Retrieved 14-Feb-2008)