the origin of sayings

[dllyon]

what are the origins of:

A stitch in time saves nine?

and

Too many cooks spoil the broth?

[Octavius]

Proverbs are short sayings, usually of unknown or ancient origin passed down through generations, that expresses some useful thought or commonplace truth...Proverbs are usually expressed in simple, homely, language that is sometimes allegorical or symbolic, such as 'A stitch in time saves nine'. The word 'nine' was introduced for assonance which means "nine" sounds good in the phrase.

[willowjoy]

As I understand it the saying refers to sewing in particular, a stitch in time (before the problem gets big) saves 9 (as in more stitches later).Don't put off the little jobs, they will only get bigger.

Too many cooks spoil the broth, get too many people involved in cooking all having differing opinions on how the broth should be cooked will spoil it (one adds pepper, one salt another likes a hotter spice... disaster!)