As They Say In Zanzibar. David Crystal

does SOUTH AFRICA

      32 Abundance will make cotton pull a stone NIGERIA

      33 A fruit-tree that grows on a dunghill is sure to flourish NEW ZEALAND

      34 Cut your coat according to your cloth ENGLAND

56 DESTRUCTION

      1 An ant may well destroy a whole dam CHINA

      2 Small termites collapse the roof ETHIOPIA

      3 To fill a ditch a mound must come down ARMENIA

      4 A candle lights others and consumes itself ENGLAND

      5 A fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef CHINA

      6 Weeds never perish NETHERLANDS

      7 Feigned laughter ruins the teeth INDIA

      8 Those who hesitate are lost ENGLAND

      9 Do not tear down the east wall to repair the west CHINA

      10 You cannot damage a wrecked ship ITALY

      11 One broken rail will wreck a train USA

      12 Sharp acids corrode their own containers ALBANIA

57 FORCE

      1 No matter how hard you throw a dead fish in the water, it still won’t swim REPUBLIC OF CONGO

      2 A hungry louse bites hard USA

      3 It’s not so bad to fall in the gutter, but it’s worse to lay there USA

      4 It takes two blows to make a battle ENGLAND

      5 There’s no crime in the blow that has not been struck IRELAND

      6 The first blow does not hurt like the second ZANZIBAR

      7 The peace-maker gets two-thirds of the blows MONTENEGRO

      8 Those who bring good news knock hard ENGLAND

      9 The bigger they come, the harder they fall USA

      10 When two elephants struggle, it is the grass that suffers ZANZIBAR

      11 Pull gently at a weak rope NETHERLANDS

      12 If you have strings, pull them USA

58 PARENTS – CHILDREN

      1 To understand your parents’ love, bear your own children CHINA

      2 A crab does not beget a bird CÔTE D’IVOIRE

      3 We are all Adam’s children ENGLAND

      4 Proverbs are the children of experience ENGLAND

      5 Who teaches me for a day is my father for a lifetime CHINA

      6 Poets are fathers of lies LATIN

      7 A boulder is the father of the rocks NIGERIA

      8 Give your love to your wife and your secret to your mother IRELAND

      9 The morning is the mother of trades and the evening the mother of thoughts ITALY

      10 The bazaar knows neither father nor mother TURKEY

      11 Those whose mother is naked are not likely to clothe their aunt SUDAN

      12 A hundred aunts is not the same as one mother SIERRA LEONE

      13 More than one mother can make tasty soup NIGERIA

      14 If power can be bought, then sell your mother to get it; you can always buy her back later GHANA

      15 Necessity is the mother of invention ENGLAND

      16 If you laugh at your mother-in-law, you’ll get dirt in your eye KENYA

      17 Parents who are afraid to put their foot down will have children who step on their toes CHINA

      18 It takes a whole village to raise one child NIGERIA

      19 It is not economical to go to bed early to save the candles if the result is twins CHINA

      20 Admiration is the daughter of ignorance SPAIN

      21 Truth is the daughter of time GERMANY

      22 An heir also inherits quarrels NAMIBIA

      23 It is easier to rule a nation than a son CHINA

      24 A child is more than a chip ESTONIA

59 LOCATIONS

      1 There’s a time and a place for everything ENGLAND

      2 There’s more room outside than inside CANADA

      3 It is hard to swim between two stretches of bad water NETHERLANDS

      4 A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows the corners IRELAND

      5 The best neighbors are vacant lots USA

      6 A good driver turns in a small space FRANCE

      7 Where the drum is burst is the place to mend it REPUBLIC OF CONGO

      8 It is with its own face that the plate receives the soup NIGERIA

      9 Between two points one cannot draw more than one straight line DENMARK

      10 If you can’t drive your car, park it USA

      11 Do not put each foot on a different boat CHINA

      12 Precious ointments are put in small boxes FRANCE

      13 All’s lost that’s put in a broken dish SCOTLAND

      14 Lightning never strikes twice in the same place ENGLAND

      15 The quiet duck puts his foot on the unobservant worm CHINA

      16 Puttin’ feathers on a buzzard won’t make it no eagle USA

      17 Many speak a word which if it were a florin they would put back in their purse GERMANY

      18 It is easier to throw the load off the cart than to put it on CZECH REPUBLIC

      19 Don’t put all your goods in your shop window USA

      20 A gladiator only takes counsel in the arena LATIN

60 STANDING – SITTING – LYING

      1 Standing on top of one mountain, the other mountain is higher CHINA

      2 Someone who stands behind a wall can see nothing else JAPAN

      3 A lie stands upon one leg, but truth upon two ENGLAND

      4 It is easy to make pipes sitting amongst bulrushes CZECH REPUBLIC

      5 When two ride on one horse one must sit behind ENGLAND

      6 Who sits under a pear-tree will eat pears BULGARIA

      7 ‘Virtue in the middle,’ said the devil as he sat between two lawyers NORWAY

      8 Who sits on the floor, is not afraid of a fall CZECH REPUBLIC

      9 Sparrows clean their beaks against the branch on which they sit ESTONIA

      10 A bird with a beautiful plumage doesn’t sit in the corner CAMEROON

      11 If you try to sit on two chairs, you’ll sit on the floor USA

      12 Those who have free seats at a play hiss first CHINA

      13 At a round table every seat is first GERMANY

      14 Don’t be breaking your shin on a stool that’s not in your way IRELAND

      15 Judge not the horse by his saddle CHINA

      16 Flies never alight on boiling pots UKRAINE

      17 If you would climb into the saddle don’t despise the stirrup GERMANY

      18 Those who lie on the ground have no place from which to fall LATIN

      19 When the bed is small lie in the centre SPAIN

      20 People are not trodden on unless they lie down first GERMANY

61 FINDING

      1 A