proverb · Words worth keeping
A hard man is good to find.
A hard man is good to find.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The line reverses the arrangement of good and hard in a familiar partner-seeking saying. The result is comic wordplay with a sexual double meaning.
What the words are saying
The checked scholarly discussion identifies the reversal as a suggestive joke, so the supplied ordinary partner-search gloss misses its shift in meaning. A useful explanation focuses on how changing the word order changes the claim. It does not turn the joke into a standard for choosing a partner or establish an author or earliest use.
Everyday example
A reader compares the order of good and hard to see why the line is a joke rather than ordinary relationship advice.
When to use it
Use it to explain a suggestive reversal with no relationship standard implied.
What it does not mean
The joke verifies neither dating advice, authorship nor an earliest origin.
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
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 481; PDF page 71
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.