What does "a weak link in the chain" refer to?

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar
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Context:

I haven't done the experiment yet (I'd like to), but I have a strong
prediction of what the result will be. My prediction is that not all
of the twenty teams will succeed in passing the skill intact down the
line to their tenth members, but that a significant number of them
will. In some of the teams there will be mistakes: perhaps a weak
link in the chain will forget some vital step in the procedure, and
everyone downstream of the mistake will then obviously fail.
Perhaps team 4 gets as far as the 'catamaran' but falters thereafter.
Perhaps the eighth member of team 13 produces a 'mutant' some-
where between the 'box with two lids' and the 'picture frame' and
the ninth and tenth members of his team then copy the mutated
version.

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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 683 • Replies: 11

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@oristarA,

The weak link is the one flaw, the least capable among a group.
Perhaps not as strong or good as the other team members.

1 Reply

@argome321,

Quote:

the least capable among a group.

In this case it means the least reliable, not the least capable.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

The old saying is that a "chain is only as strong as it's weakest link."

If one link fails (breaks), the chain is useless.

The weakest link will fail.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

The weak link is the one flaw, the least capable among a group.
Perhaps not as strong or good as the other team members.

Isn't my second sentence the same as your statement?

1 Reply

@argome321,

Yeah, it is, Arg. I was just showing where the phrase "weak link" comes from, that's all. In the broad scheme of things, the failure of one link is not merely it's own failure. It causes everyone (or everything) involved to fail also. That was all I was adding to what has already been said.

1 Reply

@layman,

Actually my reply was to Hawkeye10, but for some reason my quote button doesn't work on this post.

Yeah I was going to use the original quote myself

0 Replies

@layman,

layman wrote:

The old saying is that a "chain is only as strong as it's weakest link."

If one link fails (breaks), the chain is useless.

The weakest link will fail.

The cask effect?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Quote:

The cask effect?

I wouldn't know, Oris. I've never heard of the cask effect.

1 Reply

@layman,

layman wrote:

Quote:
The cask effect?

I wouldn't know, Oris. I've never heard of the cask effect.

Buckets effect
Bucket effect is the effect of a bucket made of wood pieces; the water height that the bucket can hold is decided by the shortest piece (the weakest link).

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@oristarA,

Quote:

the water height that the bucket can hold is decided by the shortest piece (the weakest link).

Okay, yeah, same idea. If every piece of wood, except one, was 3 feet high, it wouldn't make the least bit of difference if the shortest one was 3 inches high. The bucket, as a unit, would never hold more than 3" worth. The part determines the capacity of the whole, and all that.

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@oristarA,

That kinda reminds me. I asked my Mama once, I said: " Mama, how's come I just can't seem to understand arithmetic?"

She said: " Looky here, Lay-boy, ya can't put 10 pounds of **** into no 5 pound bucket. Remember that, boy."

I said: "OK, Mama."

And I did. Remember it, I mean. Still don't know what she meant, though.

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What does "a weak link in the chain" refer to?

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