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Are you hard enough to be a shepherd?


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Smalahundur, on 30 Apr 2015 - 23:25, said:

Haha, they have paths. Softies.

:lol:

Well maybe...but It's a very popular tourist area, so the Natural Trust (who own the land) build these paths to restrict soil erosion from human boots. Without them, the whole hillside will be destroyed.

 

Some may consider that dealing with the public plus their dogs and litter on National Trust land requires an additional level of skill that many other shepherds (who also work in challenging terrains) don't have to cope with.. :lol:

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Why does one need to be"hard enough" rather than "tough enough" to be a shepherd?

Agreed.. Blame the Telegraph headline writer (though he/she may have had been limited by the number of characters he/she could use)

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What's the problem with 'hard enough'? Just too colloquial? It's a bit weird to see a phrase written which is usually spoken, I'll agree.

 

 

Well..to me the 2 words have a slightly different meaning

 

To me, the way 'tough' is used in the main content of the artlcle implies that the successful applicant will need to have the confidence, determination and resilience to deal with difficult situations (both physical and emotional).

 

However, if a man/woman were described as 'hard' then I would perceive this to imply a more extreme individual who may also lacked sympathy in his/her approach to life (...perhaps even approaching a level of callousness in their attitude towards things).

 

I admit that the nuance between the 2 words may be very subtle...and perhaps the distinction is lost in translation across the Atlantic (or even between differenty parts of the UK!)

 

JMO YMMV

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I'm with Maja and Maxi on the use of the work "hard". To me, that has negative connotations whereas "tough" means "strong" and "able to handle what is thrown at you without losing your humanity".

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I hope a good and deserving person and their dog gets the job.

 

I agree, I like tough.

 

Glad they have the paths.

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Thank you for all the input on the "though" -"hard" pair; I was curious what you all thought.

 

My feelings are similar to Maxi's that a hard person might lack empathy, whereas a shepherd has to be tough - strong to handle difficult situations, yet not be callous.

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