Rhyme/Proverb—Czech Republic

“Tso sje, hovno se close, spaldo delose, us se ne close”
“The shit is gliding, but when it hits the puddle, it glides no more.”

Nate informed me that he first heard this saying when he was 15 years old.  He was a freshman at Prague High School in his hometown of Prague, Czech Republic.  He doesn’t recall who told him the proverb exactly, but knows that it was one of his friends.  It is a rhyme that his friends used to say to one another, both because it is a rhyme and is funny to hear and say, but also because it has meaning.  He told me that at first when he was just a freshman, his friends used to say it back and forth, but it wasn’t until they were older that they stopped to examine it’s meaning.  It was at this point that they began saying it to one another with more purpose.

Though Nate assured me that there are multiple interpretations of the saying, his friends and him generally used it in the same circumstance.  Usually this came when something unfortunate happened to someone.  When this happened, one individual would tell the other what the problem was, and he would reply with this proverb as an answer.  The idea behind the saying is that the “shit” or problem may have been problematic, but once it did it damage, it “glides no more,” or in other words, it ceases  to exist and will do no more harm.  This proverb was especially popular among the younger kids in Czech both because it’s vulgar, but also because adults would likely deem it inappropriate to say, especially in a professional setting.  It might be compared to the American expression “Shit happens,” as in this country we like to say it because it’s to the point, is somewhat crude, and while containing meaning, can allow someone to laugh while beginning to forget that which has caused them discomfort.  This is the theory behind the Czech expression; it is used to let people let go of their problem(s) laugh, and look to the future.