Category Archives: Proverbs

The cockroach in the eyes of his mother looks like a gazelle.

Content: 

Y: Let’s start with my dad’s story. So, one day I was asking him for praise or validation, like I always do. And his, so like I showed, I think I was showing him something I was really excited about. And his response- I was like, “do you think it’s good?” And he was like, “the cockroach in the eyes of his mother looks like a gazelle.” And <laugh> he explained like it’s a proverb that his father told him.  I mean, his mother told him over and over again. And I was like, “I’m so offended.” He was like, “no, I’m just saying I’m not a reliable witness cause like I’m always gonna think you’re amazing.” But I still, like, bug him about that proverb to this day.

Background: Y is a 20 year old who was born and raised in New Jersey. She now resides in Los Angeles, California. 

Context: This story was told to me at a hangout among friends.

Analysis: Y’s proverb reminded me of other proverbs or sayings that relate to the unconditional love of a parent. Although it has a more negative connotation, I thought of the saying “they had a face only a mother could love.” What’s interesting about evaluating these sayings side by side is that there’s a notable difference between the statement of unconditional love coming from the parent, such as in Y’s proverb, versus in the second saying, which is meant as an insult from someone outside of the family. The connotations are vastly different. 

Oversalting rice

–Informant Info–

Nationality: Costa Rican

Age: 47

Occupation: Unemployed

Residence: Los Angeles

Date of Performance/Collection: 2022

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): Spanish

*Notes: The informant will be referred to as GC and the interviewer as K. Many parts of this story were told in Spanish and appears here in its translated form, translated by her son)

Background info: GC is a mother of 2 who grew up in a small town in Costa Rica. Her Grandmother, who she heard these stories from, was a believer in natural medicine and related practices.

Context: This story was told to me over drinks in the evening as a final addition to the few she had told me in the hours prior. The informant mentioned that this was told to her my her grandma as a way to embarrass her, so the informant was telling it to her son and me as a way to embarrass us.

GC: I have one more to tell you. *laughter* I hope-I hope it doesn’t embarrass you to horribly *laughter*

K: Oh god *laughter* Go ahead, whats the name of the folklore and how do you know of it?

GC: UH…it was something you just kinda…heard but my grandma she-she was the one to tell me I guess

K: Ok, go ahead

GC: So it goes that uh…ig your like…making rice that if you-what is it over salt or under salt the rice?

Son: You told me over

GC: Right *laughter* oversalting rice means youre in love! So when my son oevrsalted his rice, I-I fraeekd out *laughter* I was like “Oh my God! *waves her arms in the arm* Hes in love!” *Large deep sigh before laughing*.

Interpretation:
I think this is really cute! Rice is a large part of so many Hispanic meals, especially somewhere like Costa Rica, so it makes sense that they’d use something more familiar to test if someones in love. It stems from being distracted enough to forget how to do something you’ve done countless times before. I also think that noting the fact this is something, as the informant said “you just kind of hear” around. Its not something dated, or something that only parents say, people will say it to their friends, siblings etc to embarrass them. Its a teasing sort of ritual.

North Dakotan German-Russian Proverb

Text

“Always give the meanest dog two pieces of meat”

Context

The country of Germany as we now know it is of course a relatively modern sovereign state. Prior to the unification of the German states in the late 19th century, Germany existed as a myriad of different “mini-states” all with their own governing bodies and economic models. Unfortunately, this led to many Germans becoming demoralized due to religious, economic, and political hardships, and many emigrated to Russia in the 18th and 19th century. To make try and make the historical background as succinct as possible, many of these Germans living in Russia were eventually forced to leave Russia, with many settling in the northern plains of the United States.

This was the case for my ancestors on my mom’s side of the family, with my great-great grandparents settling in North Dakota. In North Dakota, there’s a heavy concentration of German-Russians living within the state, who through a combination of their prior ethnic and national heritage, as well as an amalgamation of their new American life created a unique culture and folklore.

According to my informant, this proverb was spoken in her home mostly by her parents, but also by other family members and family friends on occasion. The proverb basically means that sometimes to avoid extra trouble, it’s pertinent to sacrifice a little bit. Growing up on a farm, my informant and her family were constantly working, with little time for excess leisure or rest. And thus, while it’s not always perhaps “fair,” it saves everybody the trouble of, for example, the youngest child screaming and becoming difficult if they don’t get an extra piece of chocolate, or an animal on the farm being unruly if not given special treatment. My informant remembers this proverb quite well, and it being used relatively often when she was a child, but mentioned that it was a proverb she didn’t utilize in her adult life very often.

My Analysis

My analysis of this particular proverb basically mirrors the analysis that my informant gave me of the proverb. Sometimes – even though it isn’t fair – it’s easier for everybody involved to abate an unruly dog by throwing him an extra piece of meat (to employ the proverb quite literally). I felt like the proverb itself was perhaps rather clunky in its delivery and cadence, and wondered if it were perhaps an English translation of a German-Russian proverb. However, my informant informed me that she had only heard the particular proverb expressed in English, though it were possibly the original proverb was said in German several generations back.

North Dakotan German-Russian Proverb

Text

“You can’t pull hair from a frog”

Context

The country of Germany as we now know it is of course a relatively modern sovereign state. Prior to the unification of the German states in the late 19th century, Germany existed as a myriad of different “mini-states” all with their own governing bodies and economic models. Unfortunately, this led to many Germans becoming demoralized due to religious, economic, and political hardships, and many emigrated to Russia in the 18th and 19th century. To make try and make the historical background as succinct as possible, many of these Germans living in Russia were eventually forced to leave Russia, with many settling in the northern plains of the United States.

This was the case for my ancestors on my mom’s side of the family, with my great-great grandparents settling in North Dakota. In North Dakota, there’s a heavy concentration of German-Russians living within the state, who through a combination of their prior ethnic and national heritage, as well as an amalgamation of their new American life created a unique culture and folklore.

According to my informant, she first heard this proverb uttered by her siblings, but also occasionally heard it from other family members including her mother and aunt. This particular proverb is one my informant says she rarely uses personally, but still hears every once in a while when with friends or family members. Her analysis of the proverb is basically that one shouldn’t waste time bothering themselves with fruitless tasks. Like the proverb implies, there’s no hair on an amphibian creature like a frog, and thus one’s only wasting their time trying to “pull hair” from one. My informant said she often heard this proverb being by family members in regards to other persons. If a person was being difficult or steadfast in a particular view or belief, it was often said that “well, there’s no use pulling hair from a frog” or “you can’t pull hair from a frog.”

My Analysis

My analysis of this proverb mirrors my informant’s. There are times when it’s simply impossible to get through to another person. While it would be nice for everybody to see things through one’s own personal perspective, that’s not always possible, and thus as the proverb goes “you can’t pull hair from a frog.” The wording of this proverb is similar to other German-Russian North Dakotan proverbs in its relative uniqueness and bizarreness, both in terms of the subjects of the proverb (frogs and hair) as well as the sentence structuring of the proverb itself.

Irish Proverb

Text

“You cannot make a silk purse out of a cow’s ear”

Context

This proverb was told to my informant by his Irish mother when he was a child, in regards to a poor job he did after completing his chores. The proverb itself speaks to how low-quality material cannot present itself to be more than it is, and cannot mask its inferiorities. So when my informant did a poor job doing his chores, his mother reprimanded him using this proverb to express that a half-assed cleaning job won’t make the stove look like a brand new model. With my informant’s parents being Irish, they communicated to my informant that it was an Irish proverb that they had heard growing up as well. My informant spoke of it as being typical of the “even-headedness of the Irish” and their “hard work ethic.”

Analysis

I found this proverb to be quite interesting and humorous, and I agreed with my informant that to my knowledge it seemed very reminiscent of the Irish spirit. When looking for other examples of this proverb in use, I found that nearly everywhere else the word “cow” is actually replaced with “sow.” I found this rather funny, and wondered if it were my informant’s parents erroneously using the wrong word or my father hearing the proverb incorrectly. Either way though, the message of the proverb is quite clear and timeless.

Another reference to this proverb:

“Dictionary.com.” Www.dictionary.com, 2016, www.dictionary.com/browse/can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear#:~:text=Be%20unable%20to%20turn%20something,proverb%20in%20the%20mid%2D1500s.. Accessed 28 Apr. 2022.

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