- English translation
God, bring this age crashing down — now it's the man who sulks and the woman who has to win him back.
- Literal wording
This time, O God, tear it down — so that the man gets angry and the lady brings him back.
- Meaning and lesson
The speaker mock-curses the present age, asking God to raze it, because things have become so topsy-turvy that a husband now storms off in a huff and his wife must chase after him to make up. It is exaggeration, not a literal prayer for destruction.
Under the domestic picture lies a broader grievance that natural order has gone backward. The saying assumes a traditional view in which sulking and being coaxed belonged to the wife; it records that expectation rather than endorsing it. The scene stands for any case where the one who should be placated is doing the placating.
- When it is used
Use it as a wry lament when a couple's roles seem reversed and a man sulks while his wife makes peace, or as a grumble that the world is upside down. It is teasing, but its humor rests on old gender expectations and may sound like endorsing those stereotypes today.
- Register
- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: God, bring this age crashing down — now it's the man who sulks and the woman who has to win him back.