A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

1557 R. EDGEWORTH Sermons B6 Thinke well and thou shalt speak wel. 1623 W.

PAINTER Chaucer New Painted B1V Thinke twise, then speak, the old Prouerbe doth say.

Yet Fooles their bolts will quickely shoot away. 1639 J. CLARKE Parœmio-logia Anglo-

Latina 133 First thinke and then speak. 1640 R. BRATHWAIT Art asleep Husband? vii.

You thinke twice before you speake, and may be demanded twice before you answer.

1855 H. G. BOHN Hand-Book of Proverbs 528 Think to-day and speak to-morrow. 1902

E. HUBBARD in Philistine May 192 Think twice before you speak and then talk to

yourself. 1943 L. I. WILDER Happy Golden Years i. You must do your thinking first and

speak afterward. If you will.. do that, you will not have any trouble. 1981 P.

O’DONNELL Xanadu Talisman iv. Please think before you speak. discretion; tact

THINK global, act local

The variant ‘think globally, act locally’ was particularly associated with US environmental
campaigner Hazel Henderson and appears to have been prevalent before the version adopted as
a slogan by David Brower (1912–2000) when he founded Friends of the Earth in 1969 (see
quots. 1947 and 1981).

1947 Vidette-Messenger 27 Mar. 2 A letter was also read.. from Mrs. Jane Sense,

worthy grand matron, Indiana grand chapter, OES, setting forth the objective and slogan

of the right worthy grand matron of the general grand chapter: ‘World Friendship’ and

‘think globally, act locally’. 1981 Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA) 13 Oct. B3

‘Think globally, act locally’ is what we all have to do, she [Hazel Henderson] says. 1990

Independent 6 June 17 Bigness for its own sake in advertising has been largely

discredited, and a more subdued charter—‘Think global, act local’—is in vogue. 2007 S.

O’REILLY in Society of Antiquaries Salon no. 165 [I]t is essential that the new processes

do not lead to the creation of a ‘democratic deficit’, alienating people from the big

decision-making processes that shape their lives and valued places. Think global, yes, but

act local. environment; great and small

THINK twice, cut once

Less generally current than the very similar MEASURE twice, cut once.

1984 New York Times 9 Sept. (section 11NJ) 8 ‘Think twice, cut once,’ the amateur

hobbyist is advised, and note that, beginning in 1871, it took 15 years to design and build

the Statue of Liberty. 1994 Independent 18 Apr.18 Brushing up their skills at an Academy

of Hair; Jeremy Ettinghausen visits a school where the first lesson is: ‘Think twice, cut