proverb · Words worth keeping
Itch and ease can no man please.
Itch and ease can no man please.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying puts itch and ease together as something that cannot please. It contrasts an irritating urge with comfort in a compact judgment of dissatisfaction.
Example
A reader identifies the opposed states without using the saying to explain someone’s actual symptoms.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The wording may suggest that the two states pull in incompatible directions, but it gives no specific event or medical explanation. A careful figurative reading can ask whether opposing demands prevent contentment. That should not be used to dismiss a real discomfort or prescribe a remedy. The useful discussion concerns the contrast, with its incomplete setting acknowledged.
When to use it
Use it to examine a qualified contrast between irritation and ease.
Keep in mind
The phrase is not a diagnosis or treatment instruction.
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
- Culture
- English