The title of the season two episode of M*A*S*H, "For Want of a Boot", is adapted from the proverb. The episode's concept itself is also based on the proverb, with the character of Hawkeye going through a convoluted process involving several camp personnel, in order to get a new boot. In the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the proverb was used by Kamata (Sonny Chiba) to explain to his nephew the result of a small detail being overlooked. In the movie Father Goose, Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard) in his first scene of the movie, while talking to an Admiral on the telephone, uses part of the proverb by saying "For want of a nail, the war was..." in reference to finding an additional coastal plane spotter. In the episode of USA's Monk, "Mr. Monk at Your Service",Mr. Monk at Your Service (Retrieved 20090401) Monk quotes the proverb after being challenged by an employee that suggest a fork being a centimeter off center wasn't a problem. Monk: "For the want of a nail, the kingdom was lost." In the 1982 movie The Verdict, Ed Concannon (James Mason) uses the proverb, "for want of a shoe the horse was lost" to his disciples to describe what the case has become after Frank Galvin turned down the settlement. The entire proverbial rhyme is recited by the character Abraham Farlan in the 1946 motion picture A Matter of Life and Death. Here it was used to describe the chain of circumstances which formed the life of the main character, Peter Carter. In season two, episode three of the television show Sliders, while trying to repair the timer device in a world crippled by 'anti-technology' Professor Arturo exclaims, "For want of a shoe the war was lost." In the 50th episode of Dead or Alive, Man On Horseback, Josh Randall, Steve McQueen's character, uses the proverb "For the want of a nail, they lost the shoe. For the want of a shoe, they lost the horse. For the want of a horse, they lost the rider" to justify the reason why he is taking with him four extra horseshoes. In the 1967 Mannix episode 'Turn Every Stone,' Joe Mannix alludes to the saying at the end when he says, "It's the old horseshoe-nail bit again. For want of $10,000, a million was lost." In the 1954 movie The Caine Mutiny, Captain Queeg (Bogart) refers to the proverb during the following conversation with Ensign Keith after he reprimanded him for failing to enforce the untucked shirt-tails rule. "I know a man's shirt's a petty detail, but big things are made up of details. Don't forget, 'For want of a nail, a horseshoe was lost and then the whole battle.' A captain's job is a lonely one. He's easily misunderstood. Forget that I bawled you out." In a June 2021, of his show “Tenebrozo”, Mexican clown-politic analist “Brozo”, compared the issue with the political climate in Mexico  regarding a fatal metro accident in Mexico City: “For want of a bolt, a concret tablet was lost, for the want of a tablet, a lock is gone, for the want of a lock, a convoy is gone, for the want of a convoy, a candidate for president is gone”.
The title of the season two episode of M*A*S*H, "For Want of a Boot", is adapted from the proverb. The episode's concept itself is also based on the proverb, with the character of Hawkeye going through a convoluted process involving several camp personnel, in order to get a new boot. In the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the proverb was used by Kamata (Sonny Chiba) to explain to his nephew the result of a small detail being overlooked. In the movie Father Goose, Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard) in his first scene of the movie, while talking to an Admiral on the telephone, uses part of the proverb by saying "For want of a nail, the war was..." in reference to finding an additional coastal plane spotter. In the episode of USA's Monk, "Mr. Monk at Your Service",Mr. Monk at Your Service (Retrieved 20090401) Monk quotes the proverb after being challenged by an employee that suggest a fork being a centimeter off center wasn't a problem. Monk: "For the want of a nail, the kingdom was lost." In the 1982 movie The Verdict, Ed Concannon (James Mason) uses the proverb, "for want of a shoe the horse was lost" to his disciples to describe what the case has become after Frank Galvin turned down the settlement. The entire proverbial rhyme is recited by the character Abraham Farlan in the 1946 motion picture A Matter of Life and Death. Here it was used to describe the chain of circumstances which formed the life of the main character, Peter Carter. In season two, episode three of the television show Sliders, while trying to repair the timer device in a world crippled by 'anti-technology' Professor Arturo exclaims, "For want of a shoe the war was lost." In the 50th episode of Dead or Alive, Man On Horseback, Josh Randall, Steve McQueen's character, uses the proverb "For the want of a nail, they lost the shoe. For the want of a shoe, they lost the horse. For the want of a horse, they lost the rider" to justify the reason why he is taking with him four extra horseshoes. In the 1967 Mannix episode 'Turn Every Stone,' Joe Mannix alludes to the saying at the end when he says, "It's the old horseshoe-nail bit again. For want of $10,000, a million was lost." In the 1954 movie The Caine Mutiny, Captain Queeg (Bogart) refers to the proverb during the following conversation with Ensign Keith after he reprimanded him for failing to enforce the untucked shirt-tails rule. "I know a man's shirt's a petty detail, but big things are made up of details. Don't forget, 'For want of a nail, a horseshoe was lost and then the whole battle.' A captain's job is a lonely one. He's easily misunderstood. Forget that I bawled you out." In June 2021, on his show “Tenebrozo”, Mexican clown-politic analist “Brozo”, used the proverb to describe the political climate in Mexico , regarding a fatal metro accident in Mexico City: “For want of a bolt, a concret tablet was lost, for the want of a tablet, a lock is gone, for the want of a lock, a convoy is gone, for the want of a convoy, a candidate for president is gone”.
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