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I love beer, and I recently saw a magnet with this phrase on it:

He was a wise man who invented beer

My knowledge in English is limited, and I'm not sure if I understand correctly this phrase. In fact I hesitate between two interpretations:

He was wise the man who invented beer

or

There was a wise man who invented beer in the old time

Can anyone explain which is the correct interpretation?

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  • Denotation: The man who invented beer was wise. Connotation: The invention of beer is the evidence of his wisdom.
    – Ben
    Commented Feb 2, 2016 at 10:03

2 Answers 2

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It means

The man who invented beer was wise.

The implication is

The man was wise for inventing beer.

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  • does the proverb old phrased? or just is a normal one I don't know?
    – Kiwy
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 11:56
  • Though as he'd probably let some wet bread go off, 'serendipitous' might be more accurate. It's very tongue in cheek.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 11:57
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    The phrasing is somewhat archaic, and sounds a bit like Yoda, who often placed clauses in odd constructions. My first example would be the most common, but not very memorable. A more poetic version might be Wise was the man who invented beer.
    – bib
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 11:59
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    @EdwinAshworth A more accurate saying might be Surprised was the man who invented beer.
    – bib
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 12:00
  • @bib let's assume the man was drunk when he said that the first time then
    – Kiwy
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 12:05
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Actually the sentence can be read in two ways.

The logical way is to understand that you are talking about a man (can be the guy standing over there) and say about him that he is a wise man, who invented beer. In that case, a comma could be added after man, but it is not necessary. If "inventing beer" is the reason I call him a wise man, no comma is needed.

Compare to:

He is a smart man who founded Microsoft.

Now, it is reasonable to assume that the man who invented beer, in contrast to Bill Gates, is no longer among us, which means it is unlikely I will refer to anyone in this way.

The interpretation that is left then is indeed

The man who invented beer was wise.

Whether that happened a long time ago or yesterday is not relevant.

I would not say he is if I wanted to convey that message though, I would say:

It was a wise man who invented beer.

To avoid the possible interpretation that I am talking about an actual person that we should somehow know about.

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