Category Archives: Proverbs

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.

“Fake it till you make it”

Age: 20

Participant first heard the phrase during childhood, stating that it was a common phrase “thrown around”. In childhood, an example situation to use it would be “pretend to be popular” and other kids will naturally like you. As they grew older, they started to connect to it more. They used it as a way to combat insecurities and labels, stating, “If I’m not feeling ok, I used to it kinda push through during the moment until I have the time to unpack what I’m dealing with. I prevent unhealthy thinking patterns”. 


Analysis: I think that this goes to show how proverbs can grow with us, and how their meaning can change depending on the context one needs it for. “Fake it till you make it” is particularly interesting, as I think it’s most commonly used as a way to ignore minor issues to tackle the situation at hand. It’s also used in a more reassuring sense, like “You may be having issues/doubts now, but enough prevalence will allow you to make it”.

拿肉包打狗，狗吃了，自己没得吃 – If you hit a dog with a meat bun, the dog will eat it and you have no food now.

Age: 21

Proverb: 拿肉包打狗，狗吃了，自己没得吃 

Translation: If you hit a dog with a meat bun, the dog will eat it and you have no food now.

Context: “Basically if you punish someone with something and they enjoy it, it does nothing for you and makes it worse for you. I grew up hearing it from my mom all the time when I was growing up; mostly as a scolding for messing something up or not really helping in an already messed up situation. It was mostly used in Chinese households as a warning for kids to not act stupid and mess up something they achieved.” 

Analysis: “If you hit a dog with a meat bun the dog eats it and you have no food now” is a well-known Chinese proverb. It is primarily used as a lesson for young children and it teaches them to not be careful in situations and to be wary of what they say or do lest they mess up. 

고래 싸움에 새우등 터진다 – Shrimp’s back breaks while caught up in a whale’s fight

Age: 20

Text: 고래 싸움에 새우등 터진다

Translation: Shrimp’s back breaks while caught up in a whale’s fight

Context: It’s a proverb that my mom just uses a lot. A lot of the older Korean generation uses it to reference how Korea as a whole country was sandwiched between China and Japan and was fought multiple times over between the two countries. But for me and my brother, it was used to break us up when fighting or as my mom would say it, to not pick useless fights that we can’t win.

Analysis: This Korean proverb has some historical background. Famously, the Republic of Korea was plunged into many wars due to multiple countries trying to take it over for themselves; constantly destroying the country for years in the process. So in that sense, people take it as a warning to not pick fights with entities bigger than themselves unless they want to get hurt in the process.

누워서 침뱉기 – Spitting On Yourself While Laying Down

Age: 20

Text: 누워서 침뱉기

Translation: Spitting On Yourself While Laying Down

Context: I’ve heard this used as a scolding for when I’ve been viewed as sabotaging something good for myself. It’s pretty self-explanatory as my mom says. Why would you want to mess up what good you have (your face in this proverb).

Analysis: It is a Korean proverb which is used to warn that the result of one’s bad behavior comes back to oneself in a bad way. It could be seen as the English proverb, “What comes up must come down”. It is a well-known warning used to warn people of all ages that if we try to harm others, we’ll only be going out of our own way to hurt ourselves.