for want of a nail
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
'Tor want of a nail, the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe, the horse
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “for want of a nail” mean?
'Tor want of a nail, the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe, the horse
Is “for want of a nail” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.