proverb · Words worth keeping
A married couple is neither enemies nor friends.
A married couple is neither enemies nor friends.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying places a married couple outside a simple friend-or-enemy contrast. It suggests that a partnership may involve a relationship not captured by either label alone.
What the words are saying
Neither leaves the exact alternative unnamed. The supplied account allows both affection and conflict, but it does not define every marriage. A careful explanation keeps that limit and does not treat hostility as normal, unavoidable or something a partner must accept.
Everyday example
A reader asks what a particular partnership is like rather than settling it through a binary label.
When to use it
Use it to examine the limits of a relationship label.
What it does not mean
No universal marriage pattern or obligation to tolerate hostility is established.
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 707; PDF page 102
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.