proverb · Words worth keeping
Many a one for land, Takes a fool by the hand.
Many a one for land, Takes a fool by the hand.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Seeking property can lead someone to overlook the character of a person attached to it. Taking a fool by the hand pictures a connection chosen for its material benefit.
What the words are saying
The saying gives a motive first, land, and then an uncomfortable consequence, joining hands with someone the speaker considers foolish. It can be read as criticism of a relationship or alliance formed mainly to gain resources. The question is whether the desired benefit has distracted someone from how the partnership will actually work. The insult should not stand in for a fair assessment of another person. A careful use discusses the incompatible values or conduct at issue rather than treating wealth as proof of merit or its absence as failure.
Everyday example
Someone accepts a partnership mainly for its resources while ignoring repeated disagreements about how decisions will be made.
When to use it
Use it to question a connection chosen chiefly for material advantage.
What it does not mean
Assess actual compatibility and conduct; do not reduce people to their assets or an insulting label.
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 917 · Land
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English