Who sayth lytell he is wyse‥And fewe wordes are soone amend.
[c 1460 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains of Early Popular Poetry (1864) III. 169]
Lyttle sayde, soone amended.
[1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrams no. 169]
Littl said is soon mended.
[a 1641 D. Fergusson Scottish Proverbs (STS) no. 946]
Mum's the word; least said is soonest mended.
[1776 T. Cogan John Buncle, Junior I. vi.]
A fine preaching has he been at the night‥but maybe least said is sunest mended.
[1818 Scott Heart of Midlothian I. vi.]
A quiet word‥should‥ stop any further tale-bearing, and I really think it's a case of ‘least said, soonest mended.’
[1960 Miss Read Fresh from Country xii.]
He was tempted to go down and confront her,‥but he knew he was in the wrong. Least said, soonest mended: no good creating a fuss now.
[1992 A. Lambert Rather English Marriage (1993) xvii. 289]
Related to: discretion; speech and silence; tact
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
