proverb · Source-linked selection
To fright a hind is not the way to catch her.
To fright a hind is not the way to catch her.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Frightening someone is a poor way to seek their willing approach. The hind image criticises pressure that drives the hoped-for connection away, while a constructive reading rejects the idea of catching a person and keeps their choice and boundaries central.
What the words are saying
The phrase presents a frightened creature and the person trying to catch her as working against one another. Its figurative point can be the mismatch between a desired welcome response and an intimidating approach. In conversation, excessive pressure may turn an invitation into something the recipient wants to escape. The image should not reduce a person to prey or make gentleness a subtler means of controlling them. A useful application changes the aim from obtaining a response to offering a real choice. An invitation can be clear without being insistent, and a refusal or request for distance deserves respect. The proverb is not animal-handling guidance or a guarantee that any particular approach will succeed.
Everyday example
A workshop host sends a hesitant participant clear information and an optional invitation, then accepts that they may prefer not to attend instead of repeatedly asking for a commitment.
When to use it
Use it to question an intimidating approach and make room for a freely chosen response.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
People are not prey; respect refusal and boundaries rather than using courtesy as a tactic for 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 786 · Hind
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English