hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper
proverb Optimism is best-suited to the start of something. Sure, it's OK to feel hopeful now, only a few days into the project. But if you don't have results as it wraps up, get ready for disappointment—after all, hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper. A: "You're just a pessimist." B: "Not when negotiations have dragged on as long as they have. Remember, hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper." A: "I really thought the boss was going to take my proposal seriously this time. But it's been weeks now, and, nothing." B: "I'm sorry, honey. I guess that's why they say hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.
Prov. It is good to start the day feeling hopeful, but if none of the things you hope for come to pass by the end of the day, you will feel disappointed. (Can be used to warn someone against hoping for something that is unlikely to happen.) Lisa began the day hoping that she would find work, and by the end of the day she had learned that hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.