He who hesitates doesn’t get the early worm

Followers may recall a recent post from Marykathryn, who was described as “The Norma Crosby of Malaphors”, and who uttered the classic “do you think I would paint myself in a corner and throw away the key?”  She now has sent another classic, spoken out of exasperation.  Her husband apparently is a slow and cautious driver. He was trying to make a right hand turn onto a busy road and missed at least three chances that Norma Crosby perceived. So, she calmly said to him, “You know Danny, he who hesitates doesn’t get the early worm.”  This is a conflation of “he who hesitates is lost” (people should act decisively) and “the early bird catches the worm”  (the one who arrives first has the best chance for success).  It is somewhat congruent as both proverbs relate to acting quickly to achieve success.  Trivia tidbit – The Early Worm Gets the Bird was the name of a Merrie Melodies 1940s cartoon by the great Tex Avery.  A big thank you to Marykathryn for sending this one in!