Wise Iraqi Grandmother's Sayings

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Razilin

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One of my colleagues (let's call him Dr. A) is from Iraq and he ALWAYS has the funniest (yet also surprisingly meaningful) sayings from his late grandmother. I'm curious what other bits of wisdom you've come across. Please post them below.

From Dr. A's grandmother, below are some of my favorites:

Dr. A's Grandmother's Sayings and Other Omerisms

1) "There's no milk left in this cow."
-Dr. A's grandmother on being tired from a really bad call night.

2) "Good luck keeping the cat away from the butcher shop."
-Dr. A's grandmother on ???

3) "Life is better after lunch."
-Dr. A's grandmother on life.

4) "The chicken only lays one egg a day."
-Dr. A's grandmother on being frugal.

5) "You can't have rain without clouds."
-Dr. A's grandmother on bad days.

6) "The late bee doesn't make any honey."
-Dr. A's grandmother on being tardy to work.

7) "You have a harvest, but you don't have a crescent."
-Dr. A's grandmother on having a lot of people in the clinic waiting room, a physician ready to see them, but the nurses not putting the patients into the rooms so the doctor can start seeing them.

8) "I'm like a monkey without a banana."
-Dr. A's grandmother on being purposeless.

9) "I'm like a butterfly that got its wings burned."
-Dr. A's grandmother on being purposeless.

10) "Its like the goat under your armpit."
-Dr. A's grandmother on wrestling with a problem that drives you nuts.

11) "Its like the chicken that laid the golden egg."
-Dr. A's grandmother on a good day.

12) "You can't sit on the bathroom with the lid on."
-Dr. A's grandmother on a normal day.

13) "You can't jump on my belly and ask why I farted."
-Dr. A's grandmother on asking stupid questions and getting stupid answers.

14) "If you want the honey, you got to take the bee stings."
-Dr. A's grandmother on earning your keep.

15) "Its like trusting water in a colander."
-Dr. A's grandmother on trusting sketchy people.
 
2) "Good luck keeping the cat away from the butcher shop."
-Dr. A's grandmother on ???

My brother says "A gator wouldn't climb a tree to eat an apple when a steak is lying right there on the ground."


Which basically means, don't leave your shit where people are not gonna be able to resist taking it. >>;
 
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My Oma said
"Don't let the cow out of the barn"

...it means your fly's open >.>'
 
My grandmothers favorite saying was
"Min dräng hade en dräng och både var de lata"
My farmboy had a farmboy and yet both were lazy.
 
My father used to have all kinds of sayings. I always thought he was some sort of mystical sage when I was young. Some of his favourites were:

虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。 If you do not enter the tiger's cave, you will not catch its cub. =No risk, no reward.

井の中の蛙大海を知らず。 A frog in a well does not know the sea. =People rely on narrow points of view/their own experiences.

二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず。 One who chases after two hares will not catch any. =Focus on one task at a time.

七転び八起き。 Seven falls, eight times getting up. =Perseverance. (I heard this so often it is etched into my brain.)
 
"Rat's aren't picky about what they eat" My grandma only in Spanish and faster then you could probably make out unless your used to her.
 
The only non-English proverb I know is my mother who says, "Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa." It literally means "With God is mercy and with man is effort."

If you want a more natural translation: "Bust yo own ass cause ain't no one else gonna bust their ass for ya."
 
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"Never start a fight, always finish them."

"You're only as brave as you are smart and kind."

"Rome wasn't built in a day." :ferret:
 
Oooh, I've got some as well.

"Mlčeti zlato." ("To keep silent is golden.")
"Prázdný sud nejvíc duní." ("The empty barrel is the one that rings loudest.")
"Slovo a vystřelený šíp nemůžeš vzít zpět." ("You can not take back a spoken word and a fired arrow.")

Naturally, they all say you should watch your mouth.
 
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