A now-discredited old saying claiming that certain things benefit from rough treatment. The beating of walnut trees was a real horticultural practice to improve fruiting.
Examples:
- A woman, a dog, and a walnut tree — the more you beat 'em, the better they be, as the saying goes, though it is not true.
Origin: 1581, English; derived from Latin: nux, asinus, mulier verbere opus habent