spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar

verb

To have something important fail for want of a small amount of money or effort.

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Meanings

verbspoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar (third-person singular simple present spoils the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar, present participle spoiling the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar, simple past and past participle spoiled the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar or spoilt the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar)

present singular third person spoils the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar · participle present spoiling the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar · participle past spoiled the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar · past spoiled the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar · participle past spoilt the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar · past spoilt the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar

  1. To have something important fail for want of a small amount of money or effort.
Cite this entry
APA

spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spoil%20the%20ship%20for%20a%20ha'p'orth%20of%20tar

MLA

“spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spoil%20the%20ship%20for%20a%20ha'p'orth%20of%20tar. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spoil%20the%20ship%20for%20a%20ha'p'orth%20of%20tar.

Source: spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.