Keep a thing seven years and you'll find a use for it

keep a thing seven years, and you'll (always) find a use for it

proverb Anything you buy or come to possess will serve a useful purpose eventually if you hold onto it for long enough. A: "I bought this Bluetooth transmitter on a whim years ago but never really had a reason to use it. Now that all my headphones are Bluetooth, it's become such a handy little gadget for me!" B: "Guess it's true—keep a thing seven years, and you'll find a use for it." A: "You bought me a spice rack? You know I don't cook, so what am I going to do with a spice rack?" B: "I don't know, I thought it might be handy to have. Keep a thing seven years, and you'll always find a use for it."

See also: and, find, for, keep, seven, thing, use

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Keep a thing seven years and you'll (always) find a use for it.

Prov. If you keep a seemingly useless thing for seven years, you will supposedly have some occasion to use it during that time. Jill: My mother sent me a four-foot-tall ceramic vase for my birthday. What can I possibly use it for? Jane: Keep it seven years and you'll find some use for it.

See also: and, find, for, keep, seven, thing, use, year

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.