Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her.
Meaning: Only those outside a difficult relationship can judge or manage it; those within suffer its complexities.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Few people are out of the reach of slander. — Most individuals lack sufficient obscurity or virtue to escape false accusations and mali…
- Slander leaves a score behind it. — Spoken harm creates lasting damage that the victim carries long after the words fade.
- One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two hours after. — Early sleep aligns with natural circadian rhythms, making pre-midnight rest more restorat…
- There is sleeping enough in the grave. — Excessive rest now wastes precious living time that death will eventually steal forever.
- Sloth turneth the edge of wit. — Idleness dulls intellectual sharpness, leaving the mind unable to cut through problems ef…
- Sloth is the mother of poverty. — Idleness breeds want because accumulated inaction prevents accumulation of resources or o…
From our tongue twisters
- Capra neagră sare piatra, piatra-i neagră, capra-i albă. — A rapid 'c/pr/n' alternation that gains speed — and the colour-swap at the end trips the…
- Μια πάπια μα ποια πάπια; μια πάπια με παπιά στα παγωμένα νερά. (Mia papia ma pia papia; mia papia me papia sta pagomena nera.) — A 'pa/pi/pag' drill — the near-identical syllables pile up while the image stays perfectl…
- Appilan pappilan apupapin papupata pankolla kiehuu ja kuohuu. — A relentless 'pap/pap/pu' bilabial drill stacked with Finnish double consonants.