proverb · Words worth keeping
An ill marriage is a spring of ill fortune.
An ill marriage is a spring of ill fortune.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A harmful partnership can create repeated difficulties in daily life. The spring image makes one troubled relationship a source from which other problems flow.
What the words are saying
The saying pictures an ill marriage as continually supplying misfortune. It can recognise how conflict, control or incompatible expectations affect more than an isolated disagreement. This is not a prediction that every difficult marriage must remain harmful or an accusation that one partner causes all trouble. A useful reading identifies specific patterns and what choices or support are available. The same reflection can apply to other close partnerships without reducing the people to a single judgment.
Everyday example
Someone notices that repeated controlling behaviour affects friendships, work and daily decisions, and seeks support to understand their options.
When to use it
Use it to discuss recurring harm in a close partnership.
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What it does not mean
A troubled relationship needs individual assessment; this is not a prediction or an assignment of blame.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or 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
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1034 · Marriage (ill)
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English