- English translation
As the plowman would say: God damn the both of them.
- Literal wording
According to the plowman's view: may God curse the pair.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying refuses to favor one of two bad people over the other. Like a plowman fed up with both oxen yoked to his plow, the speaker damns the whole pair, meaning the two oxen, not a married couple, because a search for some redeeming quality in either one turns up nothing worth defending.
It works as a verdict of equal blame. When someone presses for a ranking between two disappointing people, the speaker rejects the premise that one is better. Both have earned the same rejection, and treating them as a single bad unit is more honest than inventing a preference.
- When it is used
Say it when someone asks you to pick the better of two people you consider equally worthless. It condemns both alike. Because it curses in God's name, it is harsh and may offend religious listeners; said about people present, it is an open insult. Keep it to informal talk.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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