proverb · Source-linked selection
Bachelors, before you marry, Have a house wherein to tarry.
Bachelors, before you marry, Have a house wherein to tarry.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A shared life benefits from considering practical arrangements beforehand. The house pictures a place and means for the partnership to live.
What the words are saying
The saying advises a prospective husband to arrange a dwelling before marriage. A modern reading includes both partners and their actual circumstances, rather than assigning provision to one gender. It can encourage discussion of housing, responsibilities and expectations before a commitment. It does not require property ownership or make wealth a measure of readiness or worth. The useful point is mutual planning, not a rigid timetable imposed on every couple.
Everyday example
Partners discuss where they will live and how responsibilities will be shared before making a major commitment.
When to use it
Use it to encourage shared practical planning before a partnership.
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What it does not mean
Readiness does not require owning a house or meeting a gendered model of provision.
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 1039 · Marry
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English