Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

treat them mean, keep them keen

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English

Syllables
treat them mean, -keep- them -keen
IPA
47
Scrabble Score
25
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

proverb

A woman will be more interested in a man if he is unkind to her.

Informal

Usage

Inflected Forms

treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen (alternative) treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen (alternative)

Phrases

be cruel to be kind nice guys finish last

Frequently Paired Words

be cruel to be kind nice guys finish last

Questions

What does treat them mean, keep them keen mean?
A woman will be more interested in a man if he is unkind to her.

How to pronounce treat them mean, keep them keen

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “treat them mean, keep them keen”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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