better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

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better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

Where it comes from

Calque of Latin ad praesens ova cras pullis sunt meliora, from Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais.

proverb

It is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later.
Similar: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, take the cash and let the credit go

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MLA

"better an egg today than a hen tomorrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/better%20an%20egg%20today%20than%20a%20hen%20tomorrow. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

better an egg today than a hen tomorrow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/better%20an%20egg%20today%20than%20a%20hen%20tomorrow

Chicago

"better an egg today than a hen tomorrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/better%20an%20egg%20today%20than%20a%20hen%20tomorrow.

BibTeX

@misc{better_an_egg_today_than_a_hen_tomorrow_2026,
  title = {better an egg today than a hen tomorrow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/better%20an%20egg%20today%20than%20a%20hen%20tomorrow},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}