> as lemmas

1496 J. Molinet Faictz et Dictz (1937) II. xxxi. l. 768 Par ung seul clou perd on ung bon cheval.]

1618 T. Adams Happines of Church 396 The French-men haue a miltary Prouerbe; The losse of a nayle, the losse of an Army. The want of a nayle looseth the shooe, the losse of shooe troubles the horse, the horse indangereth the rider, the rider breaking his ranke molests the company, so farre as to hazard the whole Army.

1758 Edinb. Mag. Apr. 133/1 He adviseth to circumspection and care, even in the smallest matters..adding, ‘For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost’.

1832 Indiana Jrnl. 28 Apr. 1/3 His door hinge comes off for want of a nail, and the door is destroyed for want of a hinge, and his mow is trampled on and gorged for want of a door, and all this loss is occasioned by not timely driving or clenching a single nail.

1873 Magnet (London) 10 Mar. 2/6 A conspiracy which must have taken months of work.., has suddenly collapsed ‘for the lack of a nail’, and the whole labour is lost.

1925 S. O'Casey Juno & Paycock I. in Two Plays 16 You bring your long-tailed shovel, an' I'll bring me navvy... For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, an' for want of a horse the man was lost.

1979 Managem. Notes (U.S. Dept. Agric.) Nov. 31/1 For lack of a nail... Have you heard the story of the million dollar computer that couldn't run because the wrong amphenol connector was installed?

2010 Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. May 191 (heading) For want of a nail: how absences cause events.