A brass-rimmed magnifying glass hovers above a small mound of sand on yellow fabric.

Original artwork, not a still

Apophthegms

Richard Whately

Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker imagines a lost morning hour as something hunted for throughout the rest of the day. That personification makes wasted time seem both tangible and impossible to recover. The saying reads as a warning that an early delay can leave a person feeling continually behind.

Context reviewed

Share this quote