Monday, January 12, 2009

Mama Says (and others too)...

I absolutely and completely enjoy proverbial sayings and the like, especially the West Indian Ones, but I don't discriminate. Read (or translate), decipher, and above all, enjoy.

* Monkey know which tree fi climb:
One knows who to mess with without repercussions

* No put yourself in a barrel when match box can hold you:
Don't pretend to be more important than you are

* Good tings no cheap, cheap tings no good:
Good things aren't cheap and cheap things are not good (so don't cut corners being cheap)

* Want all, lose all:
If one is greedy, one loses everything

* Dog wid narrow arse no swallow bone:
Don't bite off more than you can chew.

* One hand cy'an clap:
One can always benefit from assistance (work with me)

* Rockstone a river bottom don't know sun hot:
If you are in a sheltered situation, you don't know what hardship is

* Wha sweet a goat mouth sour in a arse:
Often things we like are not good for us

* Play wid puppy, puppy lick you mouth:
Familiarity breeds contempt

* No care how boar hog try fi hide under sheep wool, 'im grunt always betray 'im:
Don't care how much disguise someone puts on, their true self will show eventually


To be continued, Se'Lah...
*translated for my sistah ;-)

4 comments:

Operaton You said...

I read and re-read and I really want to benefit from the proverbs you've selected. Can you write a follow-up piece translating in your words a few that you most like? Please take them from your list. Thanks for helping out a sistah!

Operaton You said...

Thank you, thank you! I love them... Two of my favorite:

One can always benefit from assistance - That rings home for me. I often do not ask for help and think I can manage on my own. I usually can, but when the help is there, it makes things so much easier and better for me and it allows people to make a deposit in life by giving. Then, I'm so thankful for the help, which also reminds me to accept, accept, accept.

No care how boar hog try fi hide under sheep wool, 'im grunt always betray 'im - I love this because I'm wide open. You can read my thoughts through my face and through my actions. I tell my girlfriends that are dating, "Forget what he says, follow his actions then you will know."

Anonymous said...

LMAO!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Half of these I am not familiar with, but that is interesting.