--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each lapse is like the letting fall of a…" description: "\"“Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg" --- # Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string… ![“Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.” quote by Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg) > ““Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.”” [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Small mistakes can undo many careful efforts; vigilance is essential. **In simple terms:** Minor slips can cause major setbacks. Key Takeaway Maintain careful attention to detail. Themes mistakes vigilance process learning Mood cautionary analytical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - craftsmanship - software development - academic research - parenting Key Concepts error cascade attention skill acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How can you build systems to catch small errors? - When is it acceptable to let a slip happen? A Different Perspective Perfection is impossible; occasional errors are inevitable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. 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Spread your wings and trust him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-isn-t-letting-you-fall-he-is-teaching-you-how-to-fly-spread-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes being strong means holding back the tears but letting them fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-being-strong-means-holding-back-the-tears-but-letting-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Instead, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "If it's all right right you, I think i'll keep ahold of you anyway. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/instead-he-reached-out-and-grabbed-her-hand-if-it-s-all-right-right/) [Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) > [Forget the past and look forward to the future. 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But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mcmann/it-s-like-a-cat-bell-so-pretty-yet-alarming-because-i-know-i-m/) [Lisa McMann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mcmann/) > [I wasn't sure what I expected her to do or say to this. It was all new to me from that second on. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-wasn-t-sure-what-i-expected-her-to-do-or-say-to-this-it-was-all-new/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [There is a cleansing that takes place in Letting Go. When we fall down in our Past and roll around in our Past, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/there-is-a-cleansing-that-takes-place-in-letting-go-when-we-fall-down/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) ## More by Frank Morton McMurry > [“Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely/) [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) > [“There is one right thing for the student to do, that is, to develop the habit of weighing worths, of sensing the relative values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/there-is-one-right-thing-for-the-student-to-do-that-is-to-develop-the/) [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) > [“Never give more time to reading a book than to reflecting upon its contents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/never-give-more-time-to-reading-a-book-than-to-reflecting-upon-its/) [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) > [“Living, in the case of animals, thus means getting on, and any ability, whether physical or intellectual, is of importance to the extent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/living-in-the-case-of-animals-thus-means-getting-on-and-any-ability/) [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) > [“Many parents as well as teachers refuse to place this responsibility upon children for fear of the mistakes that they will make. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Browse all 1,429 Great man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Morton McMurry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a-ball-of-string-which-one-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Great man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a-ball-of-string-which-one-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/frank-morton-mcmurry-50050_great-man_each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a_3170049.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip…” — Frank Morton McMurry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank Morton McMurry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Each lapse is like the letting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a-ball-of-string-which-one-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/each-lapse-is-like-the-letting-fall-of-a-ball-of-string-which-one-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```