proverb · Words worth keeping
Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her.
Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying claims outsiders can tame a shrew more easily than the person living with her. It contrasts detached advice with the difficulty of an ongoing relationship through a derogatory gendered label.
What the words are saying
Every one and but make other people’s confidence appear easy and the close participant’s experience difficult. A useful reading can question advice given without enough context. It must also reject the notion that a partner is an animal to be controlled. Relationships need mutual agency rather than success at taming someone.
Everyday example
An adviser listens to both partners’ concerns instead of claiming that a controlling tactic will easily solve the disagreement.
When to use it
Use it critically to discuss confident outside advice and its limits.
What it does not mean
The label is demeaning; partners are not people to tame or control.
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 1434 · Shrew
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English