Cool sayings from around the world (part 3)

From time to time on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog I like to take a look at languages and sayings from around the world, and this week once again it's one of those times as I round-up another five cool sayings from around the world in a blog post I've creatively entitled 'Cool sayings from around the world (part 3).

"Walk according to the length of your step."
But preferably, wear better fashion than this dude while doing so.

1) "Eat according to the limits of your provisions. Walk according to the length of your step."

When I think of Tibet I think of wise old monks, and this wise saying from Tibet reinforces that image. I suppose when you analyse it though, it's really just a fancy version of the English expression, 'Live within your means.'

The concept of debt and loans is something I've never seen the attraction of, so whichever version of the saying you use, I would definitely agree with this piece of excellent advice.

2) "Preach the falsehood, to know the truth."

At first glance this French saying may not appear to make a lot of sense, but it's basically a precursor of Cunnigham's Law which states, "The best way to get the right answer on the internet is to post the wrong answer."

"Le Hooray! France have won the 1982 World Cup!"
"Sorry, it was actually Italy. I was just testing Cunningham's Law."
"Le drat!"

For example, if you were to post, "Who won the World Cup in 1982?" you may get lucky and receive one or two replies, or you may find that nobody answers you. However, if you were to post, "France won the World Cup in 1982," then inevitably lots of people will immediately rush to correct you, and tell you you're wrong because it was in fact Italy who won the World Cup in 1982.

Try it out if you like. Post a question on the internet and see how many replies you get, then post a deliberately wrong statement, and you'll very likely get far more replies from people eager to correct you.

The French saying 'Preach the falsehood, to know the truth," originally applied to real life, whereas Cunnigham's Law applies specifically to the internet, but anyway, apparently the principal works because most people have a greater urge to correct people than they do to help people!

3) "In shortness is spice."

German people often have an undeserved reputation for not having a great sense of humour, but in my experience that's not true, as many of the Germans I've met have been very funny people. On that theme, the expression, 'In shortness is spice' is a German saying related to humour which means, 'The shorter the joke, the funnier it is.'

I'm not sure I would always agree with this, as one of my favourite jokes of all time was actually a very long story (coincidentally, told to me by a German), but on the other hand websites like twitter have shown that short puns can be very amusing.

"Catches none, he who hunts two rats does."

4) "He who hunts two rats, catches none."

Personally, I wouldn't recommend hunting rats, but fortunately this saying also works as a metaphor, and doesn't have to be taken literally.

The expression comes from Uganda and is a clever way of saying, 'Focus on one goal at a time'. I would generally agree with this, although when focusing on one goal it's still okay to be aware of future goals. Sort of like the wisdom of Yoda when he says, "Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment."

Anyway, if you want to achieve two goals, then according to Ugandan wisdom, focus on one goal at a time.

"I identify as a 15 year old!"

5) "Everyone wants to live long, but no-one wants to be called old."

Finally, I would generally agree with this piece of wisdom on growing old. However, if I had to choose one or the other then I would definitely opt for a long life! And if I was being pedantic then it's actually being old, which I want to avoid. People could quite happily call me old all they want, as long as I was actually young, so in actual fact it's merely being reminded that you actually are old that old people dislike.

Anyway, this is technically a quote, rather than a saying, but it was Jonathan Swift who said this (author of Gulliver's Travels) and he was born in Dublin, so if we were treating it as a saying then the credit would have to go to Ireland.

You can find more cool sayings from around the world by travelling the world and speaking to local people from around the world. Or alternatively, an easier way is to check out my previous blog posts below:
Cool sayings from around the world (part 1)
Cool sayings from around the world (part 2)

Or if you're feeling adventurous, why not do both!?