Meaning & Analysis
There is (or was) hardly any difference between the two people or things being compared—only as much as if a single pair of shears had separated them.
Insights
Minimal Difference
The proverb metaphorically suggests that two people, things, or qualities are nearly identical, differing by the smallest margin—akin to two pieces of cloth cut from the same fabric.
Shared Origin or Nature
It implies a common origin, background, or character, as if both were created by the same process and only superficially divided, reinforcing ideas of kinship, likeness, or even complicity.
Illusion of Distinction
The saying highlights how apparent distinctions are often illusory or trivial, inviting skepticism about claimed differences—whether in character, belief, or status.
Textile and Craft Origins
The proverb draws on imagery from tailoring, where a pair of shears cuts one piece of cloth into two, leaving both pieces nearly identical—an apt metaphor in a pre-industrial society familiar with clothwork.
Use in Social and Moral Comparison
It is frequently used to downplay moral, social, or doctrinal differences (as in religious or political disputes), humorously suggesting that adversaries or rivals are essentially the same.
Shakespearean Usage
Shakespeare employs the proverb in 'Measure for Measure' to mock the supposed difference between villain and accuser, demonstrating its function as a tool of satire and social critique.
Related Proverbs
Proverbs like 'To come of the same egg' or 'There is but a hair between' echo the same theme of near-indistinguishability, showing the ubiquity of this insight across cultures and languages.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The use of 'pair of shears' cutting cloth is an extended metaphor for dividing a whole into nearly identical parts.
Hyperbole
The suggestion that only a single cut separates two entities exaggerates for effect, humorously emphasizing their likeness.
Allusion
By referencing a common craft tool, the proverb alludes to everyday knowledge, making the comparison vivid and relatable.
Transcription
Quotations
And as it were but a payre of sheeres to goe betweene theire natures.
For there went but a paire of sheres betweene your knaueries.
One paire of sheeres sure cut out both your coates.
There went but a paire of sheeres betweene him and the pursiuant of hell, for they both delight in sin.
(betwixt them).
So vertue decline not to the neighbour vice, betweene which there goes nothing but a paire of sheares, as the Prouerbe is.
There went but a paire of sheeres between a Papist and a Protestant, and not a pinne to choose of what religion a man is.
There went but a paire of sheeres between.
(There goeth but).
(betwixt ——).
Shakespeare Citations
Thou thyself art a wicked villain, despite of all grace. —Well, there went but a pair of shears between us.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.