Meanings
alternative there's many a slip between the cup and the lip · alternative there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip
- datedIn any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong.
Many thynges fall betwene the cuppe and the mouth.
[1539, Erasmus, “Multa cadunt inter calicem supremaq[ue] labra”, in Richard Taverner, transl., Proverbes or Adagies with Newe Addicions Gathered out of the Chiliades of Erasmus […], London: […] Ricardum Bances, →OCLC, folios xv, recto – xv, verso5 more examples
[Y]et conſidering that many things fall betwéene the cup and the lip, that in one luckie houre more rare things come to paſſe, thẽ [then; i.e., than] ſome-times in ſeauen yeare, […] there is no doubt but that they both will liue well in marriage, who loued ſo well before their matching: […]
[[1578], Iohn Lylly [i.e., John Lyly], “Thine or Not His Owne, Philautus”, in Euphues. The Anatomy of Wyt. […], London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […], →OCLC, folio 129, rectoBut thus you ſee th' old Adage verified, / Multa cadunt inter—you can gueſs the reſt. / Many things fall betvveen the Cup and Lip: / And though they touch, you are not ſure to drink.
[1633 (first performance), Ben Jonson, “A Tale of a Tub. A Comedy […]”, in The Works of Beniamin Jonson, […] (Third Folio), London: […] Thomas Hodgkin, for H[enry] Herringman, E. Brewster, T. Bassett, R[ichard] Chiswell, M. Wotton, G. Conyers, published 1692, →OCLC, Act III, scene vii, page 521, column 2Aye, ſir, if the devil don't ſtep betvveen the cup and the lip, as he uſes to do.
[1777 February 24 (first performance), Richard Brinsley Sheridan, A Trip to Scarborough. A Comedy. […], London: […] G. Wilkie, […], published 1781, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, page 18Multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque labra. […] There is many a slip between the cup and the lip.
1797, Thomas Browne, “Ancæus”, in A New Classical Dictionary for the Use of Schools, […], London: […] G[eorge] G[eorge] and J[ohn] Robinson, […]; and E[lizabeth] Newbery, […], →OCLC, signature D, recto, column 1He forgot the old adage— / “There's many a slip / ’Twixt the cup and lip;” / and fancied himself so secure of the hand of Bertha, that after her declaration of the abhorrence in which she held her cousin, he gaily quaffed a cup of wine to his health, and actually made some approaches to intimacy, by drawing his settle nearer to him.
1826 August, B. J., “Henwood”, in The Literary Lounger, London: [Ibbetson and Palmer for] Lupton Relfe, […]; W. Sams, […]; Kerr and Ashmead, […]; and Sampson Low, […], →OCLC, page 353
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbIn any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong.
Origin
The Dutch humanist Erasmus (c. 1466 – 1536), in his collection of proverbs called Adagia, noted that the Carthaginian grammarian Sulpicius Apollinaris (fl. 2nd century C.E.) recorded two proverbs, one in Greek and the other in Latin, with the same meaning: πολλὰ μεταξὺ πέλει κύλικος καὶ χείλεος ἄκρου (pollà metaxù pélei kúlikos kaì kheíleos ákrou, literally “much takes place between the (wine) cup and the upper lip”) and multa cadunt inter calice[m], supremaq[ue] labra (literally “many things fall between the chalice and the upper lips”). The earliest English version of the expression recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is Richard Taverner’s 1539 translation of Erasmus’s work: see the quotation. The proverb refers to the possibility of a drink being spilled from a cup while it is being raised to the lips and before it can be drunk. The word slip (absent from the original Greco-Roman version) was chosen for its rhyme with lip.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian не се заричай
- не се заричай (ne se zaričaj)in any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Catalan de prometre a complir hi ha molt a dir, de prometre a complir hi ha molt tros per penedir
- de prometre a complir hi ha molt a dirin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
- de prometre a complir hi ha molt tros per penedirin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Chinese Mandarin 百密一疏, 計劃趕不上變化 /计划赶不上变化
- 百密一疏 (bǎimìyīshū)in any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
- 計劃趕不上變化 /计划赶不上变化 (jìhuà gǎnbùshàng biànhuà)in any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
- 天有不測風雲 /天有不测风云 (tiān yǒu bùcè fēngyún)in any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Finnish moni asia voi mennä pieleen
- moni asia voi mennä pieleenin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
French il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres
- il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvresin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
German freu dich nicht zu früh, man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben
- freu dich nicht zu frühin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
- man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend lobenin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Hindi दिल्ली अभी दूर है
- दिल्ली अभी दूर है (dillī abhī dūr hai)in any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Italian tra il dire e il fare c'è di mezzo il mare
- tra il dire e il fare c'è di mezzo il marein any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Japanese 油断大敵
- 油断大敵 (yudantaiteki)in any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Latin multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque labra
- multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque labrain any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Scottish Gaelic eadar long is laimhrig, na cuir do làmh eadar a' chlach is an sgrath
- eadar long is laimhrigin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
- na cuir do làmh eadar a' chlach is an sgrathin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Spanish de la mano a la boca desaparece la sopa, del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho
- de la mano a la boca desaparece la sopain any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
- del dicho al hecho hay mucho trechoin any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with there's many a slip twixt cup and lip
All rhymes →Cite this entry
there's many a slip twixt cup and lip. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there's%20many%20a%20slip%20twixt%20cup%20and%20lip
“there's many a slip twixt cup and lip.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there's%20many%20a%20slip%20twixt%20cup%20and%20lip. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “there's many a slip twixt cup and lip,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there's%20many%20a%20slip%20twixt%20cup%20and%20lip.
Source: there's many a slip twixt cup and lip on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.