French: Petit train va loi

Translation:  little train goes far

Meaning: slowly but surely

Context: Informant is of French Canadian decent, born and raised in Montreal Quebec. She came to the US in her mid-twenties, and Quebecois proverbs are central to her upbringing and something she employs in her career as a life coach. This proverb was casually shared with me over lunch with the informant. She uses this proverb when clients downplay their ability to do something.

Thoughts: This proverbs seems to capture the collective sprit of popular sayings such as “size doesn’t matter,” “consistency is key,” and “it’s not a race, it’s a marathon.” The size of the train doesn’t matter, all it has to do is just keep chugging along and it will reach it’s goals. Endurance and determination are greater than strength.