[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Is that from Harry Potter, err no thats a muggle

"'Many a mickle makes (or 'maks') a muckle' is a curious Scottish saying of antiquity, although it is also common in the North of England and not entirely unknown elsewhere. It is derived from 'A wheen o' mickles mak's a muckle', and means 'many of one thing make another, larger, thing'. A simple lesson, but one which needs restating; one must always look after the pennies. What are 'mickles' and 'muckles'? Webster 1913 states that each word is essentially a variant of the other, both meaning 'amount'. Arguments arge as to whether 'mickle' is in this case a corruption of 'pickle' (a Scots word for 'little'), and as to whether 'mickle' was once inherently inferior to 'muckle' or merely a variant. Whatever the case, the proliferation of this proverb has ensured that 'muckle' is now widely regarded as being the superior of 'mickle', something which is likely to persist.

So now you know