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AIBU?

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Original poster

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb

63 replies

GettingTetchy · 15/01/2024 15:58

Am I being unreasonable to say that ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’ is a recent invention that fits in with modern ideas.

YABU = this is the origin of ‘blood is thicker than water’

YANBU = ‘blood is thicker than water’ always meant family is more important than everyone else.

OP posts:
SD1978 · 15/01/2024 22:24

The original phrase was blood is thicker than water, from the 12th century. Where is the extended version from, when was that written? The original is staring that familial ties come back all else. The 'newer' version, depending on when it was written I suppose is stating that certain events may tie you more closely to friends than family, a 'you weren't there so you don't understand' idea I assume

Original poster
GettingTetchy · 15/01/2024 22:19

XenoBitch · 15/01/2024 22:13

I am not too bright, so bear with me on this.... or it was my upbringing.

I always understood 'blood is thicker than water' to mean you look after family before friends. That was what my parents told me anyway.

But now, I kind of get it means the opposite.

Yes. I think your parents were right. This strange explanation is new and false.

OP posts:
thatsjustthewayitisok · 15/01/2024 22:18

XenoBitch · 15/01/2024 22:13

I am not too bright, so bear with me on this.... or it was my upbringing.

I always understood 'blood is thicker than water' to mean you look after family before friends. That was what my parents told me anyway.

But now, I kind of get it means the opposite.

Blood is thicker than water DOES mean family are more important than non family.

XenoBitch · 15/01/2024 22:13

I am not too bright, so bear with me on this.... or it was my upbringing.

I always understood 'blood is thicker than water' to mean you look after family before friends. That was what my parents told me anyway.

But now, I kind of get it means the opposite.

thatsjustthewayitisok · 15/01/2024 22:11

Never heard this phrase before.

I read it and thought marriage covenant.

I.e. you cut the apron strings and support your wife rather than pander to your mother and be one of those DHs people on here refer to as a DH problem.

A covenant is a contract, not a battle.

Original poster
GettingTetchy · 15/01/2024 20:11

I hadn’t heard that explanation until yesterday either @DoIgotothefuneral (and I don’t want to hear it again!)

OP posts:
DoIgotothefuneral · 15/01/2024 18:36

I haven't come across that saying before and I think it's horrible. Very misogynistic as of course the ones you have spilt blood with would be men, and the giving birth would be women. So they are saying your war buddies mean more to you than your own mum???!!!

Original poster
GettingTetchy · 15/01/2024 18:08

89redballoons · 15/01/2024 17:15

I reckon whoever said this hadn't given birth; otherwise they'd have known that childbirth itself is actually a lot more bloody than it is watery.

True. That’s one reason it’s annoying.

OP posts:
JellyBabiesSaveLives · 15/01/2024 17:16

https://grammarist.com/proverb/blood-is-thicker-than-water/

Walter Scott used it in the early 1800s to mean family ties are the most important.
It dates back to 12th century Germany though, also meaning family ties are strongest.

I do like the new interpretation of the phrase, but, yeah, it's new.

Blood Is Thicker Than Water – Origin & Meaning

Blood Is Thicker Than Water - Origin & Meaning

Blood is thicker than water is an idiomatic expression that means family is more important than other relationships.

https://grammarist.com/proverb/blood-is-thicker-than-water/

89redballoons · 15/01/2024 17:15

I reckon whoever said this hadn't given birth; otherwise they'd have known that childbirth itself is actually a lot more bloody than it is watery.

tallsmallmum · 15/01/2024 16:58

I thought the thread was going to be about this; DS's cargos 🤣

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb
Original poster
GettingTetchy · 15/01/2024 16:55

Thank you @ApoodlecalledPenny.

OP posts:
ApoodlecalledPenny · 15/01/2024 16:05

Wikipedia is your friend on this.

“Writing in the 1990s and 2000s, author Albert Jack[18] and Messianic Rabbi Richard Pustelniak,[19] claim that the original meaning of the expression was that the ties between people who have made a blood covenant (or have shed blood together in battle) were stronger than ties formed by "the water of the womb", thus "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb". Neither of the authors cite any sources to support their claim.[18][19]”

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