do not spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Do not risk everything for a small amount of money
Literally: damaging a ship to save a small amount of tar for caulking
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “do not spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar” mean?
Do not risk everything for a small amount of money Literally: damaging a ship to save a small amount of tar for caulking
Is “do not spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.