Meaning & Analysis
To physically run faster than a law enforcement officer (a constable) in order to escape arrest.
Insights
Living Beyond One's Means
The primary metaphor, explicitly defined in 17th-century sources, is to spend more money than one earns, leading to debt and financial ruin. The 'constable' symbolizes the inevitable arrival of creditors or legal consequences.
Exceeding Boundaries
The proverb can describe any situation where someone's actions, words, or ambitions go far beyond reasonable or acceptable limits, inviting inevitable negative repercussions.
Recklessness and Inevitable Reckoning
It implies a state of reckless abandon, where one acts without regard for future consequences. The 'running' suggests a frantic, short-sighted attempt to evade the eventual and unavoidable outcome of such behavior.
Historical Personification of Debt
The proverb personifies financial limits as a constable, a relatable figure of local authority in 17th-century England. This transforms the abstract concept of debt into the tangible, immediate threat of legal pursuit, reflecting a society where financial default had direct and severe consequences.
Psychology of Recklessness
The phrase powerfully illustrates the psychological state of denial. 'Outrunning' suggests a willful effort to ignore or postpone an inevitable reckoning, capturing the mindset of someone who spends recklessly, hoping to stay one step ahead of the consequences of their actions.
Transgression and Consequence
While rooted in financial irresponsibility, the proverb extends to any situation where an individual's actions exceed established boundaries, be they social, ethical, or authoritative. It serves as a timeless warning that breaking rules or promises will eventually lead to a chase you cannot win.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The entire phrase is a powerful metaphor where 'outrunning' signifies excessive spending and the 'constable' symbolizes the resulting debt or legal trouble.
Action Imagery
The proverb creates a vivid and dynamic image of a desperate chase, effectively conveying the urgency and futility of trying to escape the consequences of one's actions.
Personification
Abstract financial consequences are given a human form—the constable—making the threat of debt feel personal, tangible, and relentless.
Transcription
Quotations
With too much haste they outrun the Constable.
He outran the Constable.
There was another trick found out to get money .. But now they have so out-run the Constable.
Quoth Hudibras, Friend Ralph, thou hast Out-run the Constable at last.
*To spend more then ones allowance or income.
You out-run the Constable, Brother.
But we shou'dn't have out-run the constable as the saying is.
Out-run the Constable. *To Spend more than is Got.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.