Spanish has a bunch of idioms or sentences which boil down to “you’re underestimating my experience, knowledge and threat level”. I’m sure English has its own colorful ways of saying the same thing, but I’m currently drawing a blank. Can you give me a few?
Responses from other languages and questions about other idioms welcome
A few of the Spanish examples:
no le metas a ése el dedo en la boca(, a ver si pierdes el brazo). Don’t stick your finger in that one’s mouth(, you might lose your arm). A reference to doing that to check if a baby is teething; the person being spoken of does have teeth and they’re sharp.
antes que monja fui puta. I was a whore before I entered the convent. Self-explanatory. Its opposite, antes que puta fui monja y a veces me olvido que ya no estoy en el convento, (before becoming a whore I was a nun and sometimes I forget I’m not in the convent anymore) is sometimes used to excuse brainfarts.
más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo. The devil knows more for being as old as he is than for being the devil. Don’t underestimate the knowledge of your elders. Corollary: underestimating their deviousness is also unhealthy.
Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill. Sometimes rendered “Old age and treachery will overcome youth and vigor.”
Based on several corny kung fu movies/shows: Never try to take the offered pebble from an old man’s hand.
Based on another corny movie: “Do ya feel lucky … Punk?” That one is especially “you vs me” rather than a statement about the world that your audience has to realize is obliquely said about yourself.
If someone was underestimating Nava’s experience, knowledge and threat level — especially in a political context — I would advise him to be watch out because Nava “knows where the bodies are buried”. I generally don’t hear people say it about themselves (“I know where the bodies are buried”), though, so it may not fit Nava’s specific need here.
This doesn’t fit what you are looking for, but my husband sometimes says, “old enough to know better, but too young to care.” I think that pretty much sums up the line between childhood and adulthood.
My Daddy used to say “I am going to see a man about a horse” he meant he was going to see his bookie. I just knew he was gonna bring me a pony, everytime. Aw, me, I never did get that pony.
