proverb · Words worth keeping
Lovers live on love, as larks on leeks.
Lovers live on love, as larks on leeks.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying imagines lovers living on love as larks live on leeks. The playful comparison questions whether affection alone can supply the practical needs of life.
Example
A couple values their affection while making clear arrangements for housing, expenses and everyday responsibilities.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Live on gives emotion the place of sustenance. A careful reading can honour affection while recognising that relationships also involve everyday provision and responsibility. The bird comparison should not be turned into a dietary assertion. Its usefulness lies in bringing an extravagant romantic claim back toward the needs people actually share.
When to use it
Use it to discuss love alongside practical provision.
Keep in mind
The image is not a biological claim or a dismissal of affection.
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