James Baquet

    Today’s expression, “A stitch in time saves nine,” is several centuries old. Though it may have been popularized by Benjamin Franklin in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” it was known before that.

    The meaning is: If you see a small problem and solve it early, you’ll prevent it from becoming a big problem later. So one stitch done soon enough prevents having to make nine stitches later, as we’ll see…

    James sees his student, a girl named Lillian, looking around on the floor.

    Lillian: Darn it!

    James: What happened, Lil?

    Lillian: Oh, I just lost a button.

    James: That’s too bad.

    Lillian: Yeah, I knew it was literally “hanging by a thread,” and if I’d done something about it sooner…

    James: I know. “A stitch in time saves nine.”

    Lillian: You’re SEW right!

    James: Ha! You know, you made another sewing pun, too.

    Lillian: I did?

    James: Yeah. You said “DARN IT!”

    Lillian: Ugh, what a groaner.

    James: Sorry, I was just NEEDLING you.

    Lillian: Stop it! I get your POINT!

    James: Well, it SEAMS you’ve reached your limit.

    Lillian: Enough HEMming and hawing. I gotta run.

    James: Run! Run like a sewing machine!

    Notes on the dialogue:

    Today’s dialogue is full of puns about sewing. A “pun” is a type of wordplay that makes a kind of joke out of words that sound the same or similar. An example is:

    Q: Why don’t people get hungry at the seashore?

    A: Because of the sand which is there.

    “Sand which is” sounds like “sandwiches.” Get it?

    Most of the puns are in capital letters, to show that the speaker is emphasizing the words for humorous effect. See if you can guess the double meanings before you read the notes.

    — Hanging by a thread: We often use this expression metaphorically: I was so tired at work that by 4:30 I was just hanging on by a thread. The humor here is that Lillian uses it literally.

    — SEW: Sounds like “so.” Thus, “You’re so right.”

    — DARN IT: To darn is to mend a piece of clothing, making the classic pun, “Darn that sock!” Of course, Lillian is using a euphemism for “damn,” which some consider strong language.

    — A groaner: A joke so bad it makes the listener groan as in pain.

    — NEEDLING: To “needle someone” is to tease them, or sometimes to constantly criticize.

    — POINT: The point of a needle, or the point of one’s speech.

    — SEAMS: Sounds like “seems.”

    — HEMming and hawing: To “hem and haw” is to hesitate, as when one keeps saying “um” and “ah” instead of speaking; and the “hem” is the sewn edge of a garment.

    — Run like a sewing machine: The operation of a sewing machine is referred to as “running.”