Tag Archives: proverb

Don’t Sweep Over Someone’s Feet

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Georgia
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: English

Context

This proverb is collected during a conversation I had with a friend when she came over for dinner at my house.

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Performance

The following is a proverb told to me by the interviewee.

I: Don’t sweep over someone’s feet or else they will go to jail

M: Who shared this proverb to you?

I: My mom and my dad. So I guess it’s from both Louisiana and Georgia. It’s a very much Southern African-American thing. I’m sure African-Americans from the west or east have never heard this saying.

M: That’s interesting I’ve never heard that one before.

I: Yeah I honestly hate telling white people this one, because then they’ll joke around and like sweep over my feet. And like why would you do that? I’m like a very superstitious person, just don’t.

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Analysis

What is interesting about this proverb is the latter half of it. I have heard from people that if you sweep over someone’s feet that you will have a bad love life, coming from the phrase “getting swept off your feet” as a way to say falling in love. It seems that this proverb takes that same concept but the latter half being about jail. As the interviewee comes from the African-American community in the South, where the incarceration rates for the African-American community are disproportionately higher than their white counterparts, it shows that the zeitgeist has made going to jail a part of their proverbs that they tell younger children. The interviewee also mentioned that this proverb tends not to be respected by her peers, showing that people’s level of superstition can vary even amongst similar age groups.

Ab pachtaye kya hot, jab chidiya chug gayi khet

Nationality: Indian
Age: 23
Occupation: Marketing
Residence: France
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)

Hindi: Ab pachtaye kya hot, jab chidiya chug gayi khet

Translation: Now what do you regret when the bird has devoured the field

What that means is that, why do you want to regret now, when the bird came and it already ate all of the seeds of your farm. It means why do you want to regret something that has already happened. Basically don’t regret what’s in the past and you should always concentrate on the present and the future, because regret doesn’t make our future life happier or more successful. I think this saying talks about seeds and stuff because India was a primarily agricultural economy and saying in India are related to the rural life.

What type of situations would you use that?

Like whenever people are bitching about other people, or saying a past situation was not nice or whatever. 

Thoughts: I think this is a great proverb for happiness. It shows that the past is done, and the only thing we have control over is the now. It is Hindi equivalent of the saying “no use in crying over spilled milk.”

qui vole un oeuf vole un boeuf – Quebec Proverb

Occupation: Life Coach
Residence: LA
Primary Language: French

French: qui vole un oeuf vole un boeuf

Translation: Whoever steals an egg steals an ox

Meaning: [informant] if a person steals a small thing it is likely that later he will steal a more important thing

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.

Thoughts: In addition to the informant’s ascribed meaning, I took it to mean that since a small egg can grow into mighty ox, that stealing something small of little value today might be worth something great in the future. For example $10 could have been worth 1 bitcoin way back when; however that same bitcoin now would yield tens of thousands of dollars. So just because a wrongdoing is small, doesn’t mean it won’t have large implications.

Petit train va loi – Quebec Proverb

Occupation: Life Coach
Residence: LA
Primary Language: French

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.

Péché avoué est à moitié pardonné – Quebec Proverb

Occupation: Life Coach
Residence: LA
Primary Language: French

French: Péché avoué est à moitié pardonné

Translation: confessed sin is half forgiven

Meaning: [informant] A confessed fault will be judged with more leniency

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.

Thoughts: Apart for leniency, I took this proverb to sort of provide a roadmap to make amends with someone. For example the first step to making something right is to confess.