proverb · Words worth keeping
A married couple is neither enemies nor friends.
A married couple is neither enemies nor friends.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying places a married couple outside a simple friend-or-enemy contrast. It suggests that a partnership may involve a relationship not captured by either label alone.
Example
A reader asks what a particular partnership is like rather than settling it through a binary label.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Neither leaves the exact alternative unnamed. The supplied account allows both affection and conflict, but it does not define every marriage. A careful explanation keeps that limit and does not treat hostility as normal, unavoidable or something a partner must accept.
When to use it
Use it to examine the limits of a relationship label.
Keep in mind
No universal marriage pattern or obligation to tolerate hostility is established.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown