proverb · Words worth keeping
Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her.
Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying claims outsiders can tame a shrew more easily than the person living with her. It contrasts detached advice with the difficulty of an ongoing relationship through a derogatory gendered label.
What the words are saying
Every one and but make other people’s confidence appear easy and the close participant’s experience difficult. A useful reading can question advice given without enough context. It must also reject the notion that a partner is an animal to be controlled. Relationships need mutual agency rather than success at taming someone.
Everyday example
An adviser listens to both partners’ concerns instead of claiming that a controlling tactic will easily solve the disagreement.
When to use it
Use it critically to discuss confident outside advice and its limits.
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What it does not mean
The label is demeaning; partners are not people to tame or 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 1434 · Shrew
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English