better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

It is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Tốt hơn có chắc chắn bây giờ hơn là hy vọng nhiều hơn sau

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English
Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “better an egg today than a hen tomorrow” mean?

It is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later.

Is “better an egg today than a hen tomorrow” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.