“What goes around, comes around” Proverb

“What goes around comes back around”

Nationality: American 

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

Residence: LA, CA but from San Francisco

Collected Feb 27, 2025

Primary Language: English

Context:

“This is a very common proverb and my I know my parents didn’t use it a whole lot growing up so I’m not entirely sure where I first heard it but I mainly think of the Justin Timberlake song when I use it or hear it. I interpret the saying as what you put out into the world will be reciprocated back to you. The main context I hear it used in is when someone is doing something clearly wrong or immoral someone else might use it to warn them that they’ll get “bad karma” for what they did.”

Personal Analysis:

A very common proverb, but one that remains common largely because of how true it seems to be for most people. I think the historical and societal values this saying is based on are one that preach, at least in theory, fairness. The idea that positive conduct is not done in a vacuum but instead rewarded, and that for those who are evil or dishonest that the same will be done unto them. I think this is a relatively Christian belief, or at least within Christian morality, or possibly within the Buddhist idea of karma.

”Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right” proverb

Age: 22

Profession: Student

Hometown: San Francisco

“Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right”

“My mom used to say this proverb to me growing up. To me what it means is that when you or someone else does something wrong, following it up with a wrongdoing of your own to try to undo it won’t make the problem any better. I don’t really use this very much but I do consider it when I’m in applicable situations.”

This is another fairly common folk saying. I was also taught this saying when I was little by one of my teachers, and have used it myself as well. I think the basis of the idea behind this one is that it is not good to act reciprocally bad to someone who has wronged you, or to treat someone with malice if they have chosen that course themselves.

“Stop being a cake!” Folk Speech

“Don’t be a cake!”

Nationality: American 

Age: 53

Occupation: Attorney

Residence: Boulder, CO

Collected Feb 27, 2025

Primary Language: English

Context:

“I don’t know the exact origin of this one in my life, but I think it was something I started as a dad. One of my main principles in raising you guys was making sure you could handle adversity, and so from a young age if I thought you could toughen your way through something, I’d often tell you to stop caking, or to stop being a cake. To be a “cake” was to be a weakling, and was a source of shame. Funny enough, you guys adopted it yourselves, calling each other “cakes” if you were perceived as being meek in the eyes of the other twin.”

Personal Analysis:

Growing up with this one, it was really funny to hear my dad mention it as folk speech in our family of four. I’ve admittedly never heard this used outside our little circle, but we would use this all the time growing up and still jokingly use it. My analysis is that it makes sense to use a plyable and relatively structurally weak item as a stand-in for when a person isn’t acting tough and use it as a nickname. This is in the same vein as now antiquated speech calling people “lilly-livered,” using a flower to demonstrate their weakness.

Proverb – “Nunca digas mala suerte porque nunca sabes”

From Informant:

“ “nunca digas mala suerte porque nunca sabes” that’s a Spanish saying that translates to “never say bad luck because you never know”. It’s essentially telling you that you should never say your circumstances are bad because it could be a blessing in disguise. It’s something that most if not all hispanic parents say to their kids” 

Analysis:

Super interesting proverb. I was definitely told something similar as a kid. My parents would say that you can’t complain about your situation when so many other people have it so much worse and what you’re going through right now could be teaching you something to help you grow. Interesting how different cultures have similar parenting styles in the way they approach consoling or guiding their kids.

Age: 19

Date of Performance: Told to me on March 3rd, 2025. Told to them throughout their life but they specifically mention it being a thing when they were a kid

Language: Spanish

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student at USC

Primary Language: English/Spanish

Residence: Concord, CA

“Depending on the Traffic” – Folk saying

Pulled from audio recording:

“Informant:
Oh, and another thing—this might not count as a proverb, but in California, people always say “depending on the traffic.” If something is 20 minutes away, you’d say, “20 minutes… depending on the traffic,” because it could be 50 minutes or even an hour.

Pearson:
That’s so interesting. That’s definitely not a thing in Connecticut. Traffic was never bad enough to add more than 10 minutes to a trip. Rush hour was the only time it got rough. But otherwise, it wasn’t a big deal. The idea that a drive could be 20 minutes or an hour was super foreign to me.

Informant:
Yeah, exactly. Like, I live 10 minutes from Malibu, but I’m an hour from school. At night, it’s a 45-minute drive. But if I leave during the day, it could take an hour and a half—just depending on the traffic.“

Analysis:

To me I think this is really interesting because it goes deeper than it’s actual meaning. Personally, I never really hear people say this for a couple of reasons. Where I’m from traffic isn’t really a huge thing unlike here where everything really “depends on the traffic” literally and figuratively. Like I said I think it also has a deeper meaning. I see it more as a saying like a proverb but not quite a proverb. I would classify it as folk saying that’s used to convey the idea of having things take longer than they maybe should because of various roadblocks.

Age: 20

Date of performance: Told to me on February 13th, 2025. Something they’ve heard all their life

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student at USC

Primary Language: English

Residence: From California, lives somewhere in the Los Angeles area