A Bird in the Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush
A certain small gain is worth more than the possibility of a larger one — the founding English proverb of risk aversion.
Origin
Variants go back to Aesop, where a nightingale tells a hawk that a small bird already caught beats a larger bird still being hunted. Medieval Latin had 'a sparrow in hand is worth two in flight,' and the modern English form is in print by the 15th century. The likely origin is falconry — a hawk already on the glove is worth more than two prey birds that might still escape into the bushes.
Modern usage
Quoted to defend taking the offer on the table over gambling on something speculative — accepting the buyout, holding the stock you own, not quitting the stable job for a startup dream. The exact counterargument to [[fortune-favors-the-bold]]; both get deployed depending on which decision the speaker already wants to defend.
In the wild
Take the offer. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.— common usage
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