"Trust in God and keep your powder dry" is a

maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

attributed to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, but whose first appearance in print was in 1834 in the poem "

Oliver's Advice Lieutenant-Colonel William Blacker (1 September 1777 – 25 November 1855''Burke's Peerage'' gives information for two contemporaries named William Blacker. Page 103 gives and brother of Valentine Blacker with 1776 as birth and 20 October 1850 as ...

" by

William Blacker Lieutenant-Colonel William Blacker (1 September 1777 – 25 November 1855''Burke's Peerage'' gives information for two contemporaries named William Blacker. Page 103 gives and brother of Valentine Blacker with 1776 as birth and 20 October 1850 as ...

, with the words "Put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your

powder A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...

dry!" The poem is a dramatic representation of Cromwell addressing his army during the invasion of Ireland. Edward Hayes, who edited the anthology in which the work first appeared, calls it a "well-authenticated anecdote of Cromwell".

Background

The phrase means to "always be prepared to take action yourself if necessary". The allusion is to gunpowder which soldiers had to keep dry in order to be ready to fight when required.

Bergen Evans Bergen Baldwin Evans (September 19, 1904 – February 4, 1978) was a Northwestern University professor of English and a television host. He received a George Foster Peabody Award in 1957 for excellence in broadcasting for his CBS TV series ''The La ...

suggested that the phrase combined piety and practicality. The book of Proverbs offers up the same idea in , "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord." The second half of the phrase is often used by itself, and forms the title of the 1945 film ''

Keep Your Powder Dry ''Keep Your Powder Dry'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Lana Turner, Susan Peters, and Laraine Day. Its plot follows three women who join the Women's Army Corps during World War II. The screenplay was writ ...

'' as well as Margaret Mead's 1942 book '' And Keep Your Powder Dry: An Anthropologist Looks at America''.

References

External links

* *{{wiktionary-inline, keep one's powder dry English proverbs Oliver Cromwell 1830s neologisms Quotations from literature Quotations from religion

Background

See also

References

External links