A man chases a woman until she catches him.

A common piece of American folk wisdom about courtship, typically used humorously to describe a perceived “pursuit” dynamic between men and women. It is not tied to a single identifiable speaker or occasion; rather, it circulates as a proverb in oral tradition and in later collections of sayings. The line is often invoked in casual conversation or advice-giving to suggest that apparent male pursuit may end with the woman choosing, accepting, or “capturing” the man—sometimes implying marriage or commitment. Because it functions as a proverb, its wording and attribution vary, and it is difficult to pin to a first printed appearance with high certainty.

This proverb plays on a comic reversal of traditional courtship roles: the man is imagined as the pursuer, but the punchline suggests the woman ultimately “catches” him—i.e., secures commitment, marriage, or emotional investment. It implies that pursuit is not purely one-directional; the pursued party may be strategically receptive, guiding the outcome. The saying also reflects older heterosexual dating scripts in American popular culture, where male initiative is expected but female choice is decisive. Read critically, it can be seen as reinforcing stereotypes about gender and marriage as a kind of capture, while also acknowledging women’s agency within constrained social conventions.

A man chases a woman until she catches him.
A man pursues a woman until she catches him.
A man chases a girl until she catches him.