Tag Archives: saying

Want and Communism

Nationality: Cuban
Age: 42
Occupation: Office Clerk
Residence: Torrance, Ca
Performance Date: 4/22/2012
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Al que quiere azul celeste, que le cueste.”

English:

To the one who wants sky blue, let it cost them- If you want something specific in life, its going to cost you.

This metaphor has deep ties to the communist idea of not wanting more than everybody else. The idea in communist culture that someone may want more or something special or different is, of course, not uncommon, but this saying is a sort of caution about the price of desiring better than what others settle for. My informant, having grown up in a family full of cuban refugees, heard this metaphor from two of her elder cousins regarding higher education. In this context, it was more or less a warning as to the amount of time, money, and effort it takes for one to get a higher education, though it was not neccessarily a dissaproval.

This metaphor seems to stem from the dying of clothing in Cuba, and how certain shades had to be mixed carefully and took considerable time,money, and effort to create instead of simple, naturally occuring shades that most citizens wear.

Life’s a bitch, and then you die!

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Camas, Washington
Performance Date: April 2012
Primary Language: English

“Life’s a bitch, and then you die!”

Folk saying

When I complained about upcoming exams, my informant told me, “Life’s a bitch, and then you die!”

My informant explained its importance to him: “My dad and his dad said this. It has been the quote I’ve associated with both of them because it represented their easygoing view on life and it conveyed the message to me to not take life too seriously and instead roll with the punches and accept it for what it is.”

 

Used to put people’s troubles in perspective, this proverb assuages people’s worries by illustrating that pain is prevalent in life, but since death is inevitable, there is no use in worrying about things (especially trivial things).

“Girl with the look”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: 3/14/12
Primary Language: English

The informant is a friend from high school. He originally created the expression “girl with the look” on one of the first days of senior year when he saw a girl he was very attracted to. He didn’t know her name so he just called her the girl with the look. The expression quickly became a kind of inside joke within our friend group and rather than ask each other who we were interested in at school, we might ask who each other’s girl with the look was. The expression expanded out a little and other people at our school started using it, too. Another variant is “girl with a look” meaning simply a girl you’re attracted to, whereas “girl with the look” implies infatuation at first sight almost. For girls and gay guys, “guy with the look” also became a thing, though it was never used as much.

My informant liked the expression because it was a way to refer to someone without using a name, which kept it kind of secret and exclusive to those that knew what was being talked about. It kept the discussion within the friend group and also bonded us together by having our own phrase. I like it for the same reasons. Because it started out in one group, it created a sense of community and exclusivity within the group. And even though it’s a new piece of folklore, it did grow to have multiplicity and variation.

I’m as serious as a rubber crutch in an orthopedic ward

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/21/12
Primary Language: English

The informant first heard this saying from her mother in Washington, USA where the informant is from. This is an American saying that is used in a conversational setting. The informant states that this saying is used when somebody is trying to say that a situation is not serious at all and is silly. This is because, as she says, a rubber crutch is not very useful in any orthopedic ward, so this phrase is used to convey that. This is a folk metaphor and makes use of a silly concept to describe a situation as accurately as possible. The use of which the informant describes the saying  as makes sense. The phrase itself and the way its told has a humorous and silly tone to it, indicating that this is a piece of folklore that would not be performed in the professional setting, but rather, used in a casual conversation.

 

“Solamente son pajitas que le caen in la leche.”

Nationality: Italian-American, Puerto Rican
Age: 56
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Residence: San Diego, California
Performance Date: 3.23.12
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, Italian

The folk metaphor described verbatim by informant:

“When there’s something I’m bothered by, my Puerto Rican mother says to me ‘Solamente son pajitas que le caen en la leche’: they’re just little flecks that fly in the milk. You can see them but they’re just not important.

I agree with that philosophy to try and not allow the small things to bother you, you should save your pain and suffering for the big things that are going to come no matter what.”

My informant says that her mother has being telling her this proverb her whole life and that she has since said it to her own children in its original Spanish form. Her mother is from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico where as the oldest of 13 children she worked, cooked, and took care of her family on a farm for many years. She since has jumped from the United States, San Juan, Puerto Rico (where my informant grew up), the Dominican Republic, and back to the United States again. In the words of my informant, her mother was a strong woman who had a hard life. She says the proverb because it’s true and important to her and because it reminds her of her mother. It’s a metaphor that is applicable to anyone, as stress over little things is a not uncommon. The philosophy of not letting “flecks” ruin your “milk” is great, and is nowadays seemingly lost within the unnecessarily high-stress life of post-modernity. Everyone has little problems or “flecks” that fly in their “milk.” It’s a part of life. Save your pain for something bigger.