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Grex Language Item 38: Proverbial entry
Entered by davel on Tue Nov 10 04:40:49 UTC 1992:

A recent issue of _Smithsonian_ had an article on proverbs (built around
a proverbologist, to coin a barbarism).  The current issue has some letters
in response, including a real beauty I'd never heard: "Rock falls on egg,
egg breaks.  Egg falls on rock, egg breaks."  (To someone who expressed
willingness to play checkers on condition that he move first.)
Does anyone else love proverbs & have any good ones to share?  *Real*
proverbs here - I'm about to enter another item for mutated & otherwise
contrived ones.

13 responses total.

#1 of 13 by griz on Wed Nov 11 18:15:09 1992:

What exactly do you mean by "proverb"?

#2 of 13 by davel on Thu Nov 12 00:18:53 1992:

I intended to leave that open unless a lot of wildly inappropriate ones
are entered.  At the present rate that doesn't look likely, does it?
(Or was the question theoretical rather than practical?)

#3 of 13 by danr on Thu Nov 12 00:34:12 1992:

I like Chinese proverbs.  Can't think of any right off, but I'll
keep my eye out for them.

#4 of 13 by griz on Thu Nov 12 12:57:22 1992:

Would something like "You're making a mountain out of a molehill" count
as a proverb, or its German equivalent "Du machst eine Muecke aus einem
Elefanten (You're making a mosquito out of an elephant)"?  My favorite
sayings like that are the ones that appear with very different wording, but
meaning the same thing, in other languages.  I'll try to think of some
more.

#5 of 13 by davel on Thu Nov 12 15:39:55 1992:

I certainly meant it to include cliches of that sort; not sure if those
who formally study proverbs would include them, but if they're any good
bring them on!

#6 of 13 by arthur on Thu Nov 12 17:16:51 1992:

  For 'it's nothing to get excited about':

"It's no cow on the ice."  It's European, I think, and
Scandinavian.  Not exactly a proverb, but....

#7 of 13 by tsty on Mon Jan 4 10:48:07 1993:

REal proverb - don't know from where though
  
  Never marry someone outside of the peal of your church bell.

#8 of 13 by robh on Mon Jan 4 22:40:22 1993:

Great, and here I am praticing Wicca, and we don't even HAVE
church bells.  Feh.

#9 of 13 by rcurl on Tue Jan 5 04:22:21 1993:

Re #4: Was that *really* "You're making a mosquito out of an elephant"?
That has the reversed meaning of "Making a mountain out of a molehill".

#10 of 13 by tsty on Sun Jan 10 09:16:56 1993:

Well, sort of ......

#11 of 13 by rcurl on Mon Jan 11 06:35:56 1993:

Actually, mosquitos *can* be made out of elephants. The proverb must
refer to the weather.

#12 of 13 by griz on Thu Feb 18 02:59:41 1993:

Re #9:
No, I misspoke.  Sorry.  <blush>

#13 of 13 by davel on Thu Feb 18 10:54:07 1993:

Welcome back, Jennie!

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