View Full Version : Proverb game.
As we have so many different nationalities over here this should be fun. Post a proverb from your country, first in your native language and then in english. The next poster posts a proverb from his language that means exactly the same, and posts a new one.
I'll kick off;
Beter een vogel in de hand dan tien in de lucht.
One bird in the hand his better then ten in the air.
lancelot
12-20-2005, 11:14
A bird in the hand is worth ten in the bush.
or something like that anyway :stupido:
// slaps Lancelot, there are rules
give me a new proverb damnit.
English assassin
12-20-2005, 12:05
Its two in the bush rather than ten.
"All's fair in love and war"
"All's fair in love and war"
Het doel heiligt de middelen.
Results justify methods applied (not the best translation)
Wie zijn billen brand moet op de blaren zitten.
He who burns his ass will have to sit on the blisters.
English assassin
12-20-2005, 12:20
That would be something like "If you make your bed, you lie in it", but I think i like the Dutch version.
"Its an ill wind that blows nobody good"
That would be something like "If you make your bed, you lie in it", but I think i like the Dutch version.
"Its an ill wind that blows nobody good"
// Throws in towel :san_cool:
Explain that one to me please.
Prodigal
12-20-2005, 12:59
"Its an ill wind that blows nobody anygood"
The meaning is that there is news which is bad for everyone, news of war for example, basically no good's going to come of it for anyone.
How about....
"A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows all the corners."
"Its an ill wind that blows nobody anygood"
The meaning is that there is news which is bad for everyone, news of war for example, basically no good's going to come of it for anyone.
How about....
"A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows all the corners."
Op een oude fiets moet je het leren.
Best to learn on an old bike.
Wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten.
He who plants(sp? when you put seeds in the ground) wind will harvest storm.
English assassin
12-20-2005, 13:08
prodigal is right but his explaination might give a misleading impression when you would say it. For instance, if the newspaper headline the day after the gunfight at the OK Corale was "Huge Gunfight: many cowboys dead" and you turned to page 2 to read "Undertakers report record business" you might say "Well, its an ill wind that blows nobody good"
In other words you say it when someone has somehow managed to make a profit out of news that seemed bad for everyone.
Op een oude fiets moet je het leren.
Best to learn on an old bike.
Wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten.
He who plants(sp? when you put seeds in the ground) wind will harvest storm.
Baad avordera baad mibarad.
The wind will take one who came with wind
Az soorakh-e-soozan dar meereh, valy tooyeh darvazeh geer meekoneh.
He can go through the eye of a needle, but he can't enter the gates.
Az soorakh-e-soozan dar meereh, valy tooyeh darvazeh geer meekoneh.
He can go through the eye of a needle, but he can't enter the gates.
Hij heeft de klok horen luiden maar weet niet waar de klepel hangt.
He has heard the bells but can't find the clapper.
Wat je niet wilt dat jou geschied, doe dat ook een ander niet.
Don't do to others what you wouldn't want to be done to you.
Sjakihata
12-20-2005, 13:50
Wat je niet wilt dat jou geschied, doe dat ook een ander niet.
Don't do to others what you wouldn't want to be done to you.
Gør kun mod andre, hvad du vil have andre skal gøre mod dig.
Do only to others, what you want others to do to you.
Man skal ikke kaste sten når man selv bor i et glashus.
Don't throw rocks when you, yourself live in a house of glas.
Man skal ikke kaste sten når man selv bor i et glashus.
Don't throw rocks when you, yourself live in a house of glas.
De pot verteld de ketel dat hij zwart ziet.
The can tells the kettle it looks black.
Het bloed kruipt waar het niet gaan kan.
The blood crawls where it cannot go.
InsaneApache
12-20-2005, 14:13
Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread. :san_grin:
//slaps InsaneApache; You english! Since english is your mother tongue one
would expect that you are able to read it by now.
There are rules :san_angry: Be nice and post proverb.
InsaneApache
12-20-2005, 14:49
//slaps InsaneApache; You english! Since english is your mother tongue one
would expect that you are able to read it by now.
There are rules :san_angry: Be nice and post proverb.
It IS a proverb. It means impetuous people will do things that would make God balk.
English assassin
12-20-2005, 14:55
Heh, is it me or did this just morph into the "wind up Fragony" thread?
Frag, you should know that in England "rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools"
Heh, is it me or did this just morph into the "wind up Fragony" thread?
To do that start about tollerance and other kinds of hippie crap :san_wink:
OK! Here is another one.
In het land der blinden, is éénoog koning.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king.
Taffy_is_a_Taff
12-20-2005, 15:17
"A fo ben, bid bont"
He who would be a head let him be a bridge
"Gwell aderyn mewn llaw na dau mewn llwyn"
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush :san_grin:
"Haws dywedyd mawr na gwneuthur bychan"
It is easier to say much than do a little
:san_angry:
"Gwell dysg na golud"
Better learning than wealth
:san_sad:
Kagemusha
12-20-2005, 15:23
"Tuli on hyvä renki,mutta kauhea isäntä"
fire is a good servant,but a terrible master.
The Stranger
12-20-2005, 16:39
frag weet jij daar een nl spreekword voor...ik niet
verkoop de huid niet voor je de beer geschoten heb
dont sell the hide before you shot the bear (translation
dont promise anything before youre sure you can do it/prove it/realise it
frag weet jij daar een nl spreekword voor...ik niet
Bang van niet, het is duidelijk dat het te maken heeft met het gegeven dat geweld zich tegen je kan keren, maar ik kan geen enkel nederlands voorbeeld zo uit mijn hoed toveren. Misschien weet een van de andere kaasjes een mooie want het lijkt me sterk dat we niet iets soortgelijks in ons arsenaal hebben.
edit: wacht eens, 'wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten' komt aardig in de buurt!
English assassin
12-20-2005, 16:53
Ah, that would be "don't count your chickens before they are hatched."
Here's another: "The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley" (=often go wrong, do I get a bonus for posting in scots?)
master of the puppets
12-20-2005, 17:03
a writers ink lasts longer than a martyrs blood
...sorry i can't speak old irish but thats where dis prover originates.
The Stranger
12-20-2005, 17:06
Bang van niet, het is duidelijk dat het te maken heeft met het gegeven dat geweld zich tegen je kan keren, maar ik kan geen enkel nederlands voorbeeld zo uit mijn hoed toveren. Misschien weet een van de andere kaasjes een mooie want het lijkt me sterk dat we niet iets soortgelijks in ons arsenaal hebben.
edit: wacht eens, 'wie wind zaait zal storm oogsten' komt aardig in de buurt!
eh nee nie helemaal das meer wat je 1 keer vervelend doet moet je verwachten dat je 10 keer vervelend terugkrijgt...het is meer van
je moet het op de harde manier leren
and
ENGLISH ASSASSIN
im afraid i dont get that
The Stranger
12-20-2005, 17:10
MASTER
de pen is machtiger dan het zwaard
the pencil is more powerful then the sword
wie een kuil graaft voor een ander valt er zelf in
who digs a trap for sombody else will fall in it himself
"The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley" (=often go wrong, do I get a bonus for posting in scots?)
Je moet geen 'hei' roepen voordat je de brug over bent. <---best I could do
Don't yell victory before you crossed the bridge.
Vuur met vuur bestrijden.
combat fire with fire.
eh nee nie helemaal das meer wat je 1 keer vervelend doet moet je verwachten dat je 10 keer vervelend terugkrijgt...het is meer van
je moet het op de harde manier leren
Ik denk het niet, vuur is altijd een symbool geweest van geweld, dus als je geweld te vaak toepast dan heb je het niet meer onder controle.
denk ik :)
The Stranger
12-20-2005, 17:18
oog om oog tand om tand
eye for an eye
meer wegen leiden naar rome
more roads lead to rome
Taffy_is_a_Taff
12-20-2005, 17:37
The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley
Bold is the English part of that. You have three Scots words so I vote no for your extra points.
Strike For The South
12-20-2005, 17:49
gang aft agley
.
often go arwy
Strike For The South
12-20-2005, 17:57
Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys
Texan Proverb
Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys
Texan Proverb
Ooooh, that's a good one. :yes:
InsaneApache
12-20-2005, 20:24
Is it permissable to post the proverb in ones regional accent old bean?
InsaneApache
12-20-2005, 20:32
If it is then may I offer this.
'Ere all, see all, say nowt
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt.
An' iv tha eva dus owt fur nowt,
Than duit fer tha sen.
Hear all, see all, say nothing.
Eat all, drink all, pay nothing.
If you ever have to do a task for no renumeration, then above all make sure it's on your own behalf.
:san_kiss:
Taffy_is_a_Taff
12-20-2005, 20:55
IA:
do you talk like that?
I think it's excellent if you do (because Yorkshire's the best part of the North which is the best part of England).
The Stranger
12-20-2005, 20:58
ill see if i can dig up some nice african ones
i always like eastern and african proverbs
but for now a dutch one
een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer
one swaluw (sp?) doesnt make a summer
example...winning one battle doesnt mean you won the war
Taffy_is_a_Taff
12-20-2005, 21:15
what strikes me is that so many of the north western European proverbs are the same. Admittedly there's some groovy unusual ones from this area but there is a heap of common ones.
InsaneApache
12-20-2005, 23:30
IA:
do you talk like that?
I think it's excellent if you do (because Yorkshire's the best part of the North which is the best part of England).
Nah then, aye lad ah dus tork leight that, but tha's a wurry, ahh's cum fom Manchester...
so I am corrupted northerner......*hangs head*
but hey if yall loike callin than iol giyya a chipoil suppa..
(please forgive me the tykes on here :san_grin: I was made to talk...honest guv:san_laugh: )
Viva Lancashire :knight: :san_smiley:
Taffy_is_a_Taff
12-21-2005, 03:39
God's honest truth, I've only ever driven through Lancashire so I suppose my assesment was unfair. So far I like Yorkshire the best with Tyneside a close second as far as England goes.
Strike For The South
12-21-2005, 03:54
After Eating An Entire Bull,
A Mountain Lion Felt So Good
He Started Roaring.
He Kept It Up Till A Hunter
Came Along And Shot Him.
The Moral:
When You're Full Of Bull,
Keep Your Mouth Shut.
Another TEXAN proverb
After Eating An Entire Bull,
A Mountain Lion Felt So Good
He Started Roaring.
He Kept It Up Till A Hunter
Came Along And Shot Him.
The Moral:
When You're Full Of Bull,
Keep Your Mouth Shut.
Another TEXAN proverb
Before you start up a ladder, count the rungs.
A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig.
"i've never [copulated] with a 10, but i once [copulated] with five 2s"
it means you can make up with in profligacy, for what you lack in ability.
another word is used for copulated in the original proverb, obviously.
"no [crap], sherlock"
"is the pope catholic?"
"does a bear [crap] in the woods?"
which all basically mean "golly, what you just said is so obvious, i will have to point it out with an equally obvious retort"
"if you miss the ball, don't miss the man"
soccer proverb saying its better to foul an attacker than have him run around you with the ball.
"Jokes, like cats, die when dissected."
-- personal motto
Big_John
12-22-2005, 06:37
"you can't trust a man what's made of gas."
(you cannot trust a person that is made of gas)
-- yet another personal motto
'Wer einmal lügt, dem glaubt man nicht, und wenn er auch die Wahrheit spricht.'
He who lies once will not be believed a second time.
'Lügen haben kurze Beine.'
Lies have short legs...now, what would this be in English?
Quid
'
Lies have short legs...now, what would this be in English?
Quid
In Dutch:
Al is de leugen nog zo snel, de waarheid achterhaald hem wel.
As fast as a lie may be, truth always catches up.
Here's another one,
Zoals de ouden zongen piepten de jongen.
Like the old sang the young now squeel.
The Stranger
12-22-2005, 10:35
in ones darkest hour a candle can have the power of the sun
Personal Quote ;)
"We've howdied but we ain't shook." -- Southwestern proverb.
"We have greeted each other casually without being properly introduced." -- English translation.
Goofball
12-23-2005, 00:58
"She offered her honor, he honored her offer, then the rest of the night he was on her and off her."
:san_tongue:
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