Do you know the other half of this proverb :
An iron anvil should have _________?
I was surprised that I didn't know this proverb at all, but I have the answer so I'll wait for a few posts before I let the cat out of the bag!
An iron anvil should have a velvet glove.
..... the blank contains 4 words, not 4 letters like the other people thought. (i.e. An iron anvil should have iron! Well, duh! hahahaha)
An iron anvil should have a pretty velvet glove?
An iron anvil should have asbestos lined velvet glove?
hahaha..... You guys crack me up.
Get this, the answer is : An iron anvil should have a hammer of feathers
Now THAT's a proverb I've never heard of!
An iron anvil should have a hammer of feathers
That's it?
Harrumphİ! I liked mine better
I have heard a steel fist in a velvet glove-- good old maggie (thatcher) was called that early on in her career, but it was old when used to describe her.
was it english? or is it from some other language, in which case, the idiom might not make as much sense.. but it does capture the idea, that if you have the strenght, (steel fist) you don't have to get rough-- you can cover the fist in velvet, but it remains just as hard, and unyeilding..
a anvil is no less hard if you hit it with a hammer made of feathers.. -- the comment sounds strange to me.. it almost makes sense... but not quite.. but i expect it could...
(an other culture might look at a steel fist and say, whoa! who has a steel fist? )
EDIT: steel fist and velvet glove might give fewer hits, but one of the oldest is a PDF file about Maggie.
No doubt, iron fist is also used, but steel and iron are not only different metal, but invoke for me different images..
iron seems heavier, coarser and cruder
steel, is sleek, shinier, flexible, lighter but stronger than iron-- in a battle of iron and steel, i'd want steel on my side..
it almost makes sense... but not quite..
Didn't we have a thread time back way back about maxims that sounded like they should mean something but you could never quite figure out what? I think I'll add this one to my list. Thanks, JessCC.
Helen, I believe the phrase (and a nice one it is indeed) is an iron fist in a velvet glove.
bartleby: iron fist: Rigorous or despotic control: ruled the nation with an iron fist.
You'll get over 3,000 hits if you google "iron fist" "velvet glove".
a steel fist in a velvet glove
Is that the opposite of an ironclad marshmellow?
: An iron anvil should have a hammer of feathers
And what's that supposed to mean?
I seriously have NO idea! I have not even come across it before and there's nothing from the internet searches that I've done.
And then there's that lovely line from Man of La Manchathat goes
"Whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone,
it's going to be bad for the pitcher!"
it's going to be bad for the pitcher!"
Hey, Faldage, youse got some splainin ter do afore that game on Friday ;)
steel fist in a velvet glove et al
Aren't all these just variations on Teddy Roosevelt's "Speak softly but carry a big stick" ? (Or perhaps his is the variant?) (Or perhaps the sentiment has arisen in various forms independently but repeatedly?)
I'm not sure WOF They seem to start from a different proposition and mean different things. I may be misinterpreting but here is what I understood the expressions to mean:
A steel fist in a velvet glove.
I think this expression is akin to "you get more flies with honey than with vinagre". People will respond better if you deal with them kindly, so a hard/tough person (the fist of steel) will get more done if he directs with a velvet glove (the honey).
Speak softly but carry a big stick seems more like a tactical expression. There is no need to yell when you've got a arsenal to back you up. So if you speak softly, you sound more rational and maybe things will go your way BUT some people don't want to listen to reason so it is important to have that arsenal.
afore that game on Friday
Usually it's when the pitcher hits the batter; it's bad for the batter and not because he's given out LBW.
And then there are steel magnolias...
Blossom regards,
WarmWind
I have heard a steel fist in a velvet glove-- good old maggie (thatcher) was called that early on in her
career,Later on an opposition party member called her
Attila the Hen.