A Village Remembered: The Armenians of Habousi - The Compatriotic Union of Habousi

Chapter 13:

Proverbs

Collected by by K. Arakelian

- Dirt can’t be covered by snow = Bad deeds can’t be hidden forever.
- Do good and throw it away in the sea. If the fish won’t know it, God will.
- Every beauty has a fault.
- The old man has finished riddling and has hung the riddle in the attic = Praise for age and experience.
- Stretch your feet according to your bed = Know your limits, be realistic.
- When people spit on the face of a disgraceful person, he said, “It’s raining.”
- We escaped the rain to get caught by the storm.
- God’s good has an end, evil’s bad is endless.
- A flattering tongue will bring a snake out of its hole = Praise for a kind manner.
- There’s no rose without thorns.
- The rooster sounds best on its perch.
- From mouth to mouth, the stick turns into a beam = Rumors exaggerate.
- You’re asleep but your luck is awake.
- Like a donkey’s tail—it neither grows longer nor shorter = Said of fixed income.
- A beardless man’s utterance is worth nothing.
- No one gives bread; everybody gives advice.
- He who is full gives only morsels to the hungry.
- Whatever you sow, that you shall reap.
- I’m a chief, you’re a chief; then who’ll grind the flour?
- Work gets done by working; the journey is completed by walking.
- The knife has reached the bone = It’s impossible to endure longer.
- A hungry chicken sees feed in its dream.
- Keep your door locked and don’t accuse your neighbor of stealing.
- The iron should be hit while warm = Don’t delay urgent works.
- Go die; come and I’ll like you.
- The thief stole from a thief; God from above was amazed.
- You saw a cap on my head and thought I was a miller? = On making judgements from appearance.
- Scratch your own head with your own nails = Be self-dependent.
- A strong thief accuses the owner of theft.
- A donkey is experienced for its burden only.
- He who rides a donkey, should endure complaints = When initiating something, be ready for the consequences.
- What does a donkey know about what an almond is? = On ignorance, tastelessness.
- Stand in front of a donkey, but in the back of a dog = Be cautious.
- People call the donkey uncle, until they pass the bridge = On accommodation.
- The king’s daughter too has her faults.
- I wish even for my enemy not to be poor.
- People decapitate a rooster that sings prematurely.
- You’ll harvest what you seed.
- Better for a man to lose an eye than his reputation.
- The tongue is boneless.
- The mad don’t care for advice, the dirty don’t care for soap.
- For the insane everyday is feast.
- The tree should be straightened while young = On education.
- A straight line can’t be expected from a crooked ruler.
- He eats the seed in our house, but lays the eggs in someone else’s house = Ungrateful.
- Get the bread from the baker = Seek help from the experienced or the professional.
- He who becomes a friend for bread, always ends up being the grudge holder.
- If the shepherd wants, he can get milk from a male goat.
- Man’s brain isn’t in age, it’s in the head.
- Spring doesn’t arrive with one flower.
- Don’t be like a hammer, always toward yourself; be like a saw, once toward us and once toward yourself = On altruism.
- A hated person in the village is preferred over a praised person in a strange village.
- Water remains cold in a new jug.
- Much is gone, little is left.
- The dog barks where it eats.
- When the orphan wanted to steal, the moon appeared the night before = On being unlucky.
- If you’re friends with the camel-man, you have to build your door high.
- He who digs a hole for others, falls in it.
- Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
- Instead of fixing the eyebrows, you dug the eyes!
- The bad will be punished.
- You will not be breast-fed unless you cry.
- The flood drove away the mill, you’re looking for the millstone? = On neglecting the big loss and complaining about the small one.
- Think ten times and speak once.
- Measure ten times and cut once.
- Have ten intelligent enemies, don’t have one ignorant friend.
- From a ten penny donkey you get a five penny colt = Be realistic.