give them an inch and they'll take an ell

A form of give them an inch and they'll take a mile — Granting someone a limited concession will encourage them to take greater liberties.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. archaicArchaic form of give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

    I will yet thrive, (I say), as good is an ynch / As an ell. Yee can, (quoth shee), make it so well, / For when I gave you an inch, you tooke an ell, / Till both ell and inch be gone, and we in det.

    1546, John Heywood, chapter IX, in Julian Sharman, editor, The Proverbs of John Heywood. […], London: George Bell and Sons, […], published 1874, →OCLC, part II, page 161

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
give them an inch and they'll take a mile
Cite this entry
APA

give them an inch and they'll take an ell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20them%20an%20inch%20and%20they'll%20take%20an%20ell

MLA

“give them an inch and they'll take an ell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20them%20an%20inch%20and%20they'll%20take%20an%20ell. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “give them an inch and they'll take an ell,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20them%20an%20inch%20and%20they'll%20take%20an%20ell.

Source: give them an inch and they'll take an ell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.