A dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

sleeve see STRETCH your arm no further than your sleeve will reach.
A SLICE off a cut loaf isn’t missed

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  1592 SHAKESPEARE Titus Andronicus II. i. 87 More water glideth by the mill Than wots [knows] the miller of; and easy it is Of a cut loaf to steal a shive [slice]. 1639 J. CLARKE Paramiologia Anglo-Latina 118 ‘Tis safe taking a shive of a cut loafe. 1732 T. FULLER Gnomologia no. 3012 It is safe taking a slice off a Cut Loaf. 1901 F. E. TAYLOR Wit & Wisdom of South Lancashire Dialect 11 A shoive off a cut loaf’s never miss’t. (A satirical remark.) 1981 N. LOFTS Old Priory v. iii. I went into this with my eyes open and a slice off a cut loaf ain’t missed. “gains and losses
  

slip see there’s MANY a slip between cup and lip.
SLOW and steady wins the race
Sometimes merged with SLOW but sure.

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  1762 R. LLOYD Poems 38 You may deride my awkward pace, But slow and steady wins the race. 1894 G. F. NORTHALL Folk-Phrases 22 Slow and steady wins the race. 2002 Washington Post Book World 14 Apr. 4 In Gould’s theory, slow and steady sometimes wins the race, but more often than not life is punctuated by catastrophic contingencies that fall in the realm of unique historical narratives rather than predictable natural laws. ■ patience and impatience; ways and means
  

SLOW but sure
Sure means properly ‘sure-footed, deliberate’ and is frequently contrasted with slow as in 1562 G. LEGH Accidence of Armoury 97 Although the Asse be slowe, yet is he sure. Closely related to the previous proverb.

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  1692 R. L’ESTRANGE Fables of Aesop ccclxix. Slow and sure in these cases, is good counsel. 1859 S. SMILES Self-Help xi. Provided the dunce has persistency and application, he will inevitably head the cleverer fellow without these qualities. Slow but sure, wins the race. 1947 M. PENN Manchester Fourteen Miles xvii. No dressmaker.. ever learnt her trade in a hurry. ‘Slow but sure’ was the beginner’s motto. 1985 D. & S. ROSEN Death & Blintzes xxi. But you know how we work, slow but sure. Getting the facts first and then narrowing things down. ■ patience and impatience; ways and means