proverb · Source-linked selection
The hind had as lief see his wife on the bier, As Candlemas day should be pleasant and clear.
The hind had as lief see his wife on the bier, As Candlemas day should be pleasant and clear.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The rhyme makes a husband dread a clear, pleasant Candlemas as strongly as his wife’s death. It exaggerates the fear attached to a calendar-weather sign.
What the words are saying
The bier supplies a severe comparison, making pleasant weather appear ominous. A responsible interpretation identifies that reversal without inventing the particular later weather or loss the verse leaves unstated. It should not treat the wife as expendable or an actual preference for her death as reasonable. The image reveals the intensity of an imagined dread.
Everyday example
A reader examines the shocking comparison without accepting the calendar sign as a forecast or the wife’s death as a tolerable trade-off.
When to use it
Use it critically to examine an extreme seasonal omen.
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What it does not mean
The implied consequences and weather connection are not verified; the comparison does not justify harm.
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 194 · Candlemas day
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English