parempi virsta väärää kuin vaaksa vaaraa

Finnish

Etymology

Literally, “better a virsta of a crooked (path) than a vaaksa of a dangerous (path)”, or more loosely translated as “it is better to take one virsta (“around a kilometre”) of detour than take a vaaksa (“about 20 centimetres”) of dangerous shortcut”.

Proverb

parempi virsta väärää kuin vaaksa vaaraa

1. It's better to do things in a safe way, even if it's burdensome.