Saturday 6 August 2016

Cool sayings from around the world (part 2)

A camel can't see its own hump, but it can see
its own tongue, as demonstrated by this rude camel.
Previously on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog I've featured a round-up of five 'Cool sayings from around the world'. However, after doing some research, it's come to light that the world in fact contains more than five cool sayings, so here are another five, featuring camels, cucumbers, and combs...

1) "A camel cannot see its own hump."


This is an old African saying which is basically a way of saying we can see the faults in others, but not our own faults.

I can totally agree with this, because I know quite a few people with loads of faults who are always criticising others ... unlike myself. #irony

I don't know of an English saying with the exact same meaning, but I suppose a vaguely related expression would be, 'The pot calling the kettle black.'




2) "What a great big cucumber!"


This is a Spanish saying and I would guess that very few people will correctly guess what it refers to, but it's actually a football saying used to describe a long range curling shot. I suppose the shape of a cucumber is similar to the trajectory of the ball in a curling long distance shot, so it kind of makes sense, but the thought of a football fan exclaiming, "What a great big cucumber!" is an amusing thought.




An ear.
To avoid confusion, not for hanging noodles on.

3) "I'm not hanging noodles on your ears."


This is a cool Russian saying which is a peculiar way of saying, 'I'm telling the truth.' I love the creative weirdness of this saying, and if I could introduce any of this week's sayings into the English language then this would be the one I would choose, as it could bring humour to a potentially conflicting situation.




4) "A clever person turns great troubles into little ones, and little ones into none at all."


This is a really cool Chinese expression which is great advice the next time you feel as if life is getting a bit too stressful, and anyone who can follow the advice of this saying will definitely have a better quality of life.




5) "Bald people can always find a comb."


Whereas the previous expression was straight forward, self-explanatory, and great advice, I'm not sure of the exact meaning of this Thai saying. When I first heard it, it came across as ancient wisdom from a wise old Confuscious, but on further inspection I realised that it's perhaps not that wise after all - it's just a bit daft! I still found it amusing though, and if I had to take a guess I would say it's a comment on the irony of life.




If you'd like to discover why bonsai trees attract very little criticism from Dutch people, then check out my previous round-up of expressions from around the world:
Cool sayings from around the world (part 1)

2 comments:

  1. "If One Does Not Know To Which Port One Is Sailing, No Wind Is Favorable. Lucius Annaeus Seneca" http://wp.me/p7CdT3-lH

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  2. Charles Fudgemuffin17 June 2021 at 13:49

    I like that. It always makes sense to have a goal or a target in life.

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