# Favorite foreign idiom/proverbs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640 "2003-07-19T21:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/1 "2003-07-19T21:26:16Z")
A thread in GQ about a German idiom reminded me of some Spanish sayings that I like. _“Como una visita del arzobispo”_ - literally, “like a visit from the bishop”, but meant to mean "once in a blue moon’ _“dar calabazas”_ - literally, to give calabash/squash, but used to mean “to jilt a lover” or “to leave someone at the altar” (I forget exactly which) There’s another one, I forget it exactly, but literally translated it means “to be in church and get to ring the bells,” meaning “to have your cake and eat it, too.” So, seeing as how this message board is so worldly, whatcha got? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/2 "2003-07-19T21:39:08Z")
I think Confucious once said something to the effect of “To know, is to know that you don’t know. That is the meaning of true knowledge.” It’s one of my favorite proverbs. ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/3 "2003-07-19T21:54:29Z")
There is a Hungarien equivilant of our \* too many cooks spiol the broth\* it’s" _Too many midwives lose the baby_ I always like that ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/4 "2003-07-19T22:41:57Z")
Well, it’s not foreign to me, but the Finnish idiom “Pissed off like a little squirrel with a frozen pinecone in the winter” should be more widely used. As should “Oh, spring of cunts and the backwinter of pricks.” And “Ski to a cunt.” ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/5 "2003-07-19T23:04:55Z")
Old Danish saying: “Winter teaches a naked woman how to knit.” Old Arabic saying: “To call a man a thief gives him the right to be one.” One of my own: “Sex is like a sports car. The faster you go, the more often you wreck it.” ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/6 "2003-07-19T23:18:22Z")
“The raft of knowledge ferries the worst sinner to safety.” Bhagavad Gita ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/7 "2003-07-20T00:22:41Z")
All your base are belong to us ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/8 "2003-07-20T02:46:58Z")
Hungarian under the frog’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/9 "2003-07-20T02:53:54Z")
China: May you live in interesting times (a curse, actually) ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/10 "2003-07-20T03:30:40Z")
My favorite Korean proverb is _gum gang san do shik hu gyung_, which can be (rather loosely) translated as, “Before we climb the mountain, let’s eat first.” I’m very hypoglycemic so this is a good life motto for me. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/11 "2003-07-20T04:24:55Z")
Drunkeness is when you feel sophisticated, but can’t spell it. [ul]Anon.[/ul] Work is the curse of the drinking class. [ul]Oscar Wilde[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/12 "2003-07-20T06:40:19Z")
When the poor give to the rich, the devil laughs. –Spanish If one cow in the herd has diarrhea, soon they will all come down with it. –Russian (I take it to refer to morale amongst the employees or other lowlifes) If horse makes poo-poo in hat, it is horse who has demeaned himself, it is not hat that is demeaned. –Confucius (attributed to) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/13 "2003-07-20T06:49:18Z")
If only rich men could have ugly daughters, the Tsar would be a woodcutter. – Russian Rain before evening, dark before midnight. – New England It is far better to wear out your slippers dancing than to have your feet cut off. – Polish ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/14 "2003-07-20T07:54:10Z")
Mathematics is music for the mind Music is mathematics for the soul. [ul]Anon.[/ul] No one lives longer than a rich relative. [ul]Old French Saying[/ul] People who brag about their ancestors are like potatoes. The best part is underground. [ul]Old French Saying[/ul] Sure, it’s funny until someone gets hurt, then it’s hilarious! [ul]Anon.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/15 "2003-07-20T08:01:55Z")
Happy is he who knows, and knows that he knows. Less happy, though wise, is he who does not know and knows that he does not know. But preserve us from the fool of ignorance who does not know and does not know that he does not know. _Or to put it another way_: He who does not know and does not know that he does not know is a fool, shun him. He who does not know and knows that he does not know is a child, teach him. He who knows and does not know that he knows is asleep, wake him. He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man, follow him. _Both of these are attributed to ancient Arabic sayings._ ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/16 "2003-07-20T10:02:29Z")
Any of those colourful ones from the American South. Well, tie me to a tree and call me Brenda. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/17 "2003-07-20T10:25:45Z")
You’re a dag **TheLoadedDog** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/18 "2003-07-20T10:50:29Z")
I’ve always liked _cacoethes scribendi_ … an itch for writing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kegg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Kegg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kegg)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/19 "2003-07-20T12:56:38Z")
God gives nuts to the man with no teeth. -Arbic ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640/20 "2003-07-20T18:49:53Z")
“Spain deserves France for a neighbor” (Portuguese saying). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-foreign-idiom-proverbs/189640.md?page=2)