a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

== English == === Alternative forms === a chain is as strong as its weakest link a chain is no stronger than its weakest link === Etymology === First appeared in Thomas Reid’s Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, published in 1786. The full idiom a chain is no stronger than its weakest link was first printed in Cornhill Magazine in 1868. === Proverb === a chain is only as strong as its weakest link An organization is only as strong or powerful as its weakest person; a group of associates is only as strong as its laziest member. ==== Related terms ==== weakest link ==== Translations ====