Terminology and Meaning
The entire phrase actually includes both a positive and a negative expression: תפשת מרובה לא תפשת תפשת מועט תפשת - "If you have seized a lot, you have not seized; if you have seized a little, you have seized." The general meaning is that an over-ambitious claim defeats itself: the intended analogy is to one who grabs more than he can hold.
In Yoma 80a, the mythical egg of the enormous Bar-Yochani bird is provided as an example of Tafasta meruba lo tafasta: "ואימא ביצת בר יוכני תפסת מרובה לא תפסת תפסת מועט תפסת ואימא ביעתא דציפורתא דזוטר טובא"
Read more about this topic: Tafasta Meruba Lo Tafasta
Famous quotes containing the word meaning:
“Weapons are like money; no one knows the meaning of enough.”
—Martin Amis (b. 1949)