Author Archives: Dyllan Fernandez

Cart Proverb

The informant is recounting a Chinese proverb from home. He does not remember where he heard it.

The cart will find the way round the hill when it gets there.

He interprets to mean that you should not worry too much about the future.

 

This reminds me of the American saying: “You shouldn’t put the cart before the horse,” meaning you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself and think too far ahead. They have very similar meanings and both relate to carts. They could possibly be distant oicotypes of the same idea.

Icky Tea

The informant talked about a folk remedy she learned from her mother and passed on to her children.
“You make it at the first sign of cold symptoms: scratchy throat, watery eyes, aches.
It is equal parts bay leaf, sage, and cinnamon. The cinnamon at the bottom gets all slimy like snot.
I had drank all the water at every rest stop from utah to minnesota and I had got some sort of water sick or something. Originally it had cayenne pepper and lemon in it too. That was practically un-drinkable. Now we separate it out into cayenne and lemon then the tea.
My grandma said if I didn’t get better in 12 hours, they’d take me to the hospital because I was like, 12 and really sick. But we upped the dose and I she got better really quick.
Now we take the cayenne as a pill,  drink lemon-honey tea and do the rest of the icky tea in a cup.”

No one quite knows what about this works but, I tried it last time I was sick and it worked like a charm.

Bottglia piccola, vino buono.

The informant related an Italian proverb learned while spending time in Italy.

Bottglia piccola, vino buono.

It means “small bottle, good wine.” The less literal translation is that good things come in small packages.
The informant said that it is used either when someone is insecure about their height or when someone has given a small gift.

The fact that this is a regional oicotype of a very common phrase in english is interesting. Did the phrase originate in Italy and travel to the states, or did they develop independently? Perhaps it is just a common sentiment and every culture has a way of saying it.

Chi va piano, va lontano.

The informant related an Italian proverb which was told to him several times in Italy.

“Chi va piano, va lontano. Which means ‘He who goes slow, goes far.’

So, it’s like the idea slow and steady wins the race.”

He said that it was generally used on him to tell him to slow down when eating his food so he would be more able to finish it all. But he says that the general use was more in terms of setting goals so that you don’t have to be great at something when you start, but if you keep improving, you will go far.

The fact that this is a regional oicotype of a very common phrase in english is interesting. Did the phrase originate in Italy and travel to the states, or did they develop independantly?

T Intersection

The informant is talking about folk beliefs she learned from her mother about houses in China:

“You shouldn’t buy a house that’s at the end of a T-street, cuz then all the bad spirits will go into your house.”

This reminds me of a similar practice I have heard of, I believe in Feng Shui.
This could also come from the fact that houses at the end of T streets are more likely to be run into by automobiles. It could also just be due to the fact that a house in this position may just be more visible.