As They Say In Zanzibar. David Crystal
regard their father’s guest as a slave REPUBLIC OF CONGO
14 A father is a banker provided by nature FRANCE
15 It’s a wise child that knows its own father ENGLAND
16 The house with an old grandparent harbours a jewel CHINA
17 Those whose mother is naked are not likely to clothe their aunt SUDAN
18 Love and blindness are twin sisters UKRAINE
19 When you are chased by a wolf you call the boar your uncle SLOVENIA
20 The spear of kinship soon pierces the eye CAMEROON
21 Many kiss the child for the nurse’s sake ENGLAND
22 Those who gossip about their relatives have no luck and no blessing NETHERLANDS
3 SAMENESS
1 It is not the one way everyone goes mad IRELAND
2 The cry of the hyena and the loss of the goat are one NIGERIA
3 Both legs in the stocks or only one is all the same GERMANY
4 Luck and bad luck are driving in the same sledge RUSSIA1 FAMILY MOTTOESMany Latin family mottoes are no more than single words or phrases, such as Labora (‘Endeavour’). But a number are sentences with a proverbial character. Some families have even adopted a proverb as their motto. In these examples, an illustrative family surname is given in parentheses.Vivis sperandum While there is life there is hope (NIVEN)Non est sine pulvere palma The prize is not won without dust (YARBURGH)Ex vulnere sallus Health comes from a wound (BORTHWICK)Ales volat propriis The bird flies to its own (TUFTON)Praemonitas praemunitus Forewarned, forearmed (RICKART)Virtus omnia vincit Virtue conquers all (WHITE)Labor omnia vincit Labour conquers all (BROWN)Spes anchora tuta Hope is a safe anchor (DUNMURE)Audaces fortuna juvat Fortune favours the brave (CARPENTER)Other languages than Latin can be a source. Here are two from French (or Old French):Qui sera sera What will be will be (BETENSON)Qui s’estime petyt deviendra grand Who esteems himself little will become great (PETYT)
5 Ability and necessity dwell in the same cabin NETHERLANDS
6 Lovers have much to relate – but it is always the same thing GERMANY
7 Those who stumble twice over the same stone are fools LATIN
8 It is the hyenas of the same den that hate one another KENYA
9 Straps come from the same leather ARGENTINA
10 A bad thing that does no harm is the same as a good one that does no good GERMANY
11 There are many paths to the top of the mountain – but the view is always the same CHINA
12 A hole here and there is not the same as a window KENYA
13 You cannot jump over two ditches at the same time NETHERLANDS
14 If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree SIERRA LEONE
15 Thin ice and thick ice look the same from a distance USA
16 No one can blow and swallow at the same time GERMANY
17 No one can paddle two canoes at the same time SOUTH AFRICA
18 You can never get all the possums up the same tree USA
19 Lightning never strikes twice in the same place ENGLAND
20 Love and blindness are twin sisters UKRAINE
21 Crows everywhere are equally black CHINA
22 The water is the same on both sides of the boat FINLAND
23 Not even a bell always rings the same way SERBIA
24 When it rains, the roof always drips the same way LIBERIA
25 Great minds think alike ENGLAND
26 One beetle knows another IRELAND
27 Before God and the bus-conductor we are all equal GERMANY
28 The nail suffers as much as the hole NETHERLANDS
29 Don’t run too far; you will have to come back the same distance FRANCE
30 Your fingers can’t be of the same length CHINA
31 A hundred aunts is not the same as one mother SIERRA LEONE
32 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ENGLAND
33 A dollar in the bank is worth two in the hand USA
34 The game is not worth the candle ENGLAND
35 Beans are not equal to meat NAMIBIA
36 A child is more than a chip ESTONIA
37 Two wrongs do not make a right ENGLAND
38 The more things change the more they remain the same FRANCE
4 DIFFERENCE
1 Do not put each foot on a different boat CHINA
2 What makes one abbot glad makes another abbot sad SCOTLAND
3 Many people are like clocks, they show one hour and strike another DENMARK
4 When it rains on one it only drips on another NETHERLANDS
5 The broad-minded see the truth in different religions; the narrow-minded see only the differences CHINA
6 Different holes have different fish MALAYSIA
7 You cannot take one part of a fowl for cooking and leave the other part to lay eggs INDIA
8 Look the other way when the girl in the tea-house smiles JAPAN
9 The exception proves the rule ENGLAND
10 A frog beneath a coconut shell believes there is no other world MALAYSIA
11 Other people’s books are difficult to read NETHERLANDS
12 The toughest broncs is always them you’ve rode some other place USA
13 Fools seldom differ ENGLAND
14 Raindrops can’t tell broadcloth from jeans USA
15 One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade CHINA
16 Other trees, other woodcutters LITHUANIA
17 Variety is the spice of life ENGLAND
18 When one door shuts, another opens SCOTLAND
5 SMALL AMOUNT
1 To the ant, a few drops of rain is a flood JAPAN
2 The sea is made bigger even by one drop RUSSIA
3 Better a handful of bees than a basketful of flies MOROCCO
4 Every little helps ENGLAND
5 Those who want the last drop out of the can get the lid on their nose NETHERLANDS
6 Even a small star shines in the darkness FINLAND
7 A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you roses CHINA
8 A little wood will heat a little oven ENGLAND
9 A sip at a time empties the cask NORWAY
10 The biggest help is help, and even the smallest help is help IRELAND
11 Those who do not wish little things do not deserve big things BELGIUM
12 An indispensable thing never has much value GEORGIA
13 Be always a little afraid so that you never have need of being much afraid FINLAND
14 Cabbage is the best invalid, it needs only a little water SERBIA
15 A good driver turns in a small space FRANCE
16 Errands are small on a spring day ICELAND
17 Every blade of grass gets its own drop of dew SCOTLAND
18 Falling