What do you mean by ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’?
The meaning of this proverb is often misunderstood. Read on to understand what it means.
The first form of this proverb appeared in Thomas Reid’s ‘Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man’, which was published in 1786. There are two other versions of this proverb: ‘A chain is as strong as its weakest link’ or ‘A chain is no stronger than its weakest link’.
The literal meaning of this proverb is that the strength of a chain is limited to that of the weakest link in the chain. Even if the other links on the chain are strong, the strength of the chain depends on the weakest link.
This proverb can be applied to a variety of situations. For example, the performance of each team member is important in a team. It doesn’t matter if the team has a few star performers if there are some who fall behind. So, in the context of a team this proverb could be paraphrased as ‘a team is only as strong as its weakest member’. This proverb can also be applied in the context of an organisation, a business, and so on.
I want to make sure that the new recruits for our company are the best. I believe that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
As a teacher, I make sure that no student feels left behind in my class. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Watch the video below for a brief description of this proverb.
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