Category Archives: Proverbs

Only Fools Are Positive – Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College student
Residence: Farmington, Minnesota
Language: English

Text:

Only fools are positive

Context:

The informant heard this from their dad as a kid growing up in Minnesota. The example they gave me was that they would say a neutral statement to their dad such as “I walked the dog.” Their dad would respond with “are you sure?” and when the informant said yes, their dad would say “only fools are positive.” The informant said this proverb was always used as a joke in their life. Their dad used the phrase which is meant to be about not being too overconfident in a context where the informant can be confident without any concerns. The informant added that they enjoyed the double meaning of the phrase where it can mean that only a fool is positive meaning sure of what they are saying or positive meaning happy. They said that they weren’t always sure which meaning their dad was trying to use in his jokes.

Analysis:

This use of the proverb may have been mainly as a joke but this phrase has a lot more meaning to it. The proverb implies that it is foolish to be positive but given the double meaning of “positive,” the phrase can be used in multiple ways. Beginning with positive meaning overconfident or saying a definite statement, the phrase is a warning to the listener. It tells the person to not speak in absolutes and there is a possibility that they are uninformed. If they do, it might make them look like a fool when they are proven wrong. This phrase reflects some American cultural values, because an awareness of one’s own lack of knowledge is seen as a virtue. For example, in the workplace, being able to admit that you don’t know everything makes you more appealing to managers. They know you won’t overcommit or be overly confident in the workplace. This value is reflected in broader culture as people generally don’t like the cocky know-it-all and tend to gravitate towards people who are humble.

This phrase is slightly comedic with this definition. It tells a person to not speak in definitive statements but it itself is a definitive statement. It says that only one type of person is overconfident, and that no one else is.

The second way to read “positive” is as happy. In this interpretation, the phrase means that only a fool would be overly happy. Anyone else would have a healthy level of realism with the world. This implies that being too happy is bad and that realism is good. This reflects another cultural value of America where happiness and joyfulness are associated mainly with youth. As you age, you are expected to grow out of your carefree nature and come to a mindset with more realism. This phrase tells you that only a fool would stay with their unrestrained mindset and reject realism. In America, realism is valued and is associated with self-sufficiency, another cultural value that you are meant to embody as an adult.

This phrase has two meanings that on the surface look very different but, looking deeper, they both have strong ties to American cultural values of adulthood that are viewed as strengths in the workplace. It tells people to be wary of absolutes and to view the world with an amount of realism instead of being too happy-go-lucky.

From Where The Fish Pisses – Hebrew Proverbial Phrase

Nationality: Israeli-American
Age: 17
Occupation: High school student
Residence: Bellevue, Washington, United States
Language: Hebrew

Text:

מאיפה משתין הדג

Mi’ayfo mashtin hadag
From where the fish pisses

Context:

The informant heard this from other Israeli immigrants growing up in Western Washington nearby Seattle. Although they don’t use it themselves (making them a passive bearer), people around them use it often. It is a proverbial phrase that can used within a sentence such as “I’ll show you where the fish pisses” or “Just you wait, one day I’ll show you where the fish pisses from.” To the informant, the main meaning of the saying is “I’ll show you something even more unbelievable.” It is followed by the statement that is almost impossible to believe. The statement is usually used in a boasting way (where the person is going to say something even crazier than the other person). It is meant to show superiority over the other person by being more knowledgeable. It can also be used as an exclamation such as when someone says something incredible and the other person tells them that it is beyond belief, like the English phrase “no way”. The third way it can be used is as a warning that there are better things to come. For example, someone is telling a story and their audience is getting amazed before the climax of the plot. The storyteller might say this phrase to warn the audience that “you haven’t seen anything yet” and that the most unbelievable or amazing part is still to come. The informant stresses that this phrase is very flexible and has a lot of uses in many contexts. This reason is why the informant likes the phrase so much.

Analysis:

The text of the phrase is comedic to someone reading it for the first time although the uses of the phrase do not quite fit that. It can be used in a very menacing way where one person tries to prove that they are better than another person. This might reflect some cultural value of proving your worth through knowledge, especially over another person. If it is important within Israeli culture to show how much you know, then the usage of this phrase is an example of that.

Fish are an important symbol within Judaism which might explain why they are the animal selected for this specific phrase. While other cultures have similar phrases that are structured similarly, this version uses fish specifically. Fish are a traditional food for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and are a symbol of fertility along with being associated with protection from the evil eye. Given that they are important, the use within a phrase that is meant to show something exciting or unbelievable makes sense.

The phrase itself describes something that is amazing or interesting. Fish are not mammals so knowing where they urinate from is less common knowledge. If someone didn’t know where a fish urinated from and they were told, they might find it interesting and see it as a testament to the other person’s knowledge or expertise.

Without much knowledge about the cultural and historical context of the Hebrew phrase, it is difficult to say what exactly it shows. With more phrases and a deeper understanding of Jewish history, a deeper connection may be revealed. It is likely, in any case, that knowledge and the ability to prove it is an important part of Jewish and Israeli culture.

五十步笑百步 (Wu Shi Bu Xiao Bai Bu)

Those who retreated 50 steps mock those who retreated 100 steps.

Occupation: Student 

Date: 02/11/2025 

Primary Language: English

Language: Mandarin

Description

Okay. I got closer so I actually got it. Yeah, I have the one that’s um, The change tax is like, um, so that’s like the one who runs 50 steps away from the enemy laughs at the one who runs 100 steps away. It’s kind of poking fun at people who like kind of fell but they’re making fun of other people who fell. Even though, like, on like surface level, they’re both like running away from something. Yeah. Um it’s really interesting to me because it was often used my in my family. Because I have a younger sister, which… sometimes when we both get clowned on by my parents, she will laugh at me even though like she also did do something wrong. It’s also… I don’t remember a specific history behind it, but it’s definitely used, like, in war times or like, like tease on soliders who run away from your enemies. 

Subject Opinion: 

Subject: It happens unintentionally so often that, just the saying, it…surprisingly could be applied to a lot of situations. 

Analysis: 

This ancient Chinese proverb states that those who mock others’ shortcomings often have the same shortcomings themselves, criticizing the irony and hypocrisy in human behavior. The proverb’s wartime context opens up a much larger consideration of folklore born in turbulent eras during which common folk are often exposed to war, famine, etc. Similar to a large portion of Chinese wisdom, this proverb places us in a military context that, on the literal level, only applies to soldiers. But the fact that the proverb is widely known reflects the reverence and attention common folk paid to soldiers at the time, giving folk speech that stem from that realm a particular zest and intrigue. It is also interesting that the subject referenced her own family and how it’s used to point out hypocrisy in mundane matters. Though the proverb does not directly communicate a piece of advice, it encourages against the behavior described by letting the receiver come to their conclusions after witnessing the irony of the situation, making it an incredibly durable and effective proverb. 

How To Unscrew A Bolt

Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Psychology Professor
Residence: Forest Falls, CA
Language: English

Text:

“Lefty loosey, righty tighty.”

Context:

Informant, KB, stated that he learned this saying from his dad, who often used tools and did handiwork for the family. KB said that one would say this phrase “to someone when they are putting a wrench on a bolt and they’re not sure which way to turn it to loosen it.”

Analysis:

This proverb provides practical guidance on unscrewing bolts or screws. It is especially memorable because it is succinct and utilizes rhyming and alliteration. This phrase might be used more commonly in parenting or mentoring contexts, in which the listener is just learning to use wrenches or screwdrivers for some kind of mechanical project or task.

Don’t Wake Sleeping Dogs

Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Psychology Professor
Residence: Forest Falls, CA
Language: English

Text:

“Let sleeping dogs lie.”

Context:

This proverb was performed during a hockey game in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. It was the third (and final) period of the game, and the Kings (an American team based in Los Angeles) were losing to the Canucks (A Canadian team based in Vancouver) two to zero. During a stoppage in between plays, one Kings player started to nudge a Canucks player. This turned into a scuffle, and the audience roared with excitement.

“That’s got the Kings all fired up,” remarked the informant, who was rooting for the Canucks to win. “You don’t wanna wake ’em up — you gotta let sleeping dogs lie.”

Analysis:

When asked for his interpretation of the proverb within the context of its performance, the informant explained: “The team that’s behind is kind of low energy, just kinda lagging. But if you mock them and disrespect them, then it could add extra angry energy and get them playing a lot better with the increased motivation to defend their honor.”

The use of this proverb compared the team, and by extension, the fans, to dogs who could become aggressive at any moment if provoked. At the game, the rivalry existed on multiple levels — the teams themselves competing to win, the fans vying for their team and against the other team and its corresponding fans, and the competing national identities of Canada and the United States. The undertones of national rivalry were especially strong in the political moment, following the election of Donald Trump in the United States and his ensuing statements on international policy.