As They Say In Zanzibar. David Crystal

sharp at both ends CHINA

      6 Give to no one the end of the thread TURKEY

      7 If a string has one end, then it has another end CHINA

      8 When you pick up a stick at one end, you also pick up the other end USA

      9 Don’t burn your candle at both ends ENGLAND

      10 You can’t expect both ends of a sugar cane to be as sweet CHINA

88 WIDE – NARROW

      1 Wider will the cow-dung be for trampling on it WALES

      2 Although the river is broad there are times when boats collide CHINA

      3 Not even Apollo keeps his bow always at full stretch LATIN

      4 Thin ice and thick ice look the same from a distance USA

      5 The autumn chill is the first thing felt by a thin person CHINA

      6 Tangled hair needs a wide comb SERBIA

      7 God gives the wideness of the mouth according to the bigness of the spoon POLAND

      8 The cow which has the loudest bellowing has the slenderest tail IRELAND

      9 The thinnest bread finds itself married to bread ALGERIA

      10 Only thin dogs become wild MADAGASCAR

89 HAIRS – THREADS

      1 Abundance will make cotton pull a stone NIGERIA

      2 Even a hair has a shadow CZECH REPUBLIC

      3 Even in the freshest of milk you will still find hairs MALI

      4 The third strand makes the cable NETHERLANDS

      5 Give to no one the end of the thread TURKEY

      6 A hot needle burns the thread CÔTE D’IVOIRE

      7 A cloth is not woven from a single thread CHINA9 SUCCINCTNESSThe succinctness of a proverb derives from a number of features – length of sentence, length of word, and structural balance.Proverbs are typically short: the average number of words per proverb in this collection is 8.7. There are several of just four words:Still waters run deep.Waste not, want not.And sometimes fewer:Pigs might fly.Money talks.Most English proverbs contain four main units of sense – a trend which is also found in the translated items:There’s many a slip between cup and lip.Speech is silver; silence is golden.A stitch in time saves nine.A rolling stone gathers no moss.What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.That miller is honest who has hair on his teeth.There is a heavy reliance on monosyllabic words:If the shoe fits, wear it.A black hen can lay a white egg.Those who bring good news knock hard.Words of two or three syllables are common enough, but it is very unusual to find longer words:Procrastination is the thief of time.Familiarity breeds contempt.Longer proverbs usually break down into a series of short components with parallel structure:If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want a hundred years of prosperity, grow people.The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago; the second-best time is now.

      8 The first thread is not part of the yarn IRELAND

      9 Where the needle goes the thread must follow POLAND

      10 One thread for the needle, one love for the heart SUDAN

      11 A needle cannot hold two threads or a mind two thoughts ETHIOPIA

90 HIGH – LOW

      1 Ambition and fleas jump high GERMANY

      2 If the string is long the kite will fly high CHINA

      3 There is no slope above without a slope below SPAIN

      4 Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a good fire CHINA

      5 The higher the castle the nearer to the lightning RUSSIA

      6 Do not jump high under a low ceiling CZECH REPUBLIC

      7 The seagull sees furthest who flies highest FRANCE

      8 Do not lift the club too high, it may fall on your head FINLAND

      9 You won’t help shoots grow by pulling them up higher CHINA

      10 When you sweep the stairs, you start at the top GERMANY

      11 A frog beneath a coconut shell believes there is no other world MALAYSIA

      12 Even if water flows in all directions, the sand will remain at the bottom GEORGIA

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

      14 If you bow at all, bow low CHINA

      15 A low stump upsets the sledge FINLAND

      16 Falling hurts least those who fly low CHINA

      17 They must stoop who have a low door SCOTLAND

      18 Everyone leaps the dyke where it’s lowest SCOTLAND

      19 Strawberries ripen sooner in a low wood than in a high one ESTONIA

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

      21 Under trees it rains twice SWITZERLAND

      22 Never look an auto bargain under the hood USA

      23 The mouse is not crushed under the haystack SCOTLAND

      24 Not every abyss has a parapet GERMANY

      25 When in love, a cliff becomes a meadow ETHIOPIA

91 DEPTH

      1 Even deep water-holes may get dry SOUTH AFRICA

      2 Only those who have travelled the road know where the holes are deep CHINA

      3 Still waters run deep ENGLAND

      4 When you want to test the depth of a stream, don’t use both feet CHINA

      5 Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet NAMIBIA

      6 The water is shallowest where it babbles WALES

      7 The dragon in shallow water becomes the butt of shrimps CHINA

      8 Thin ice and thick ice look the same from a distance USA

      9 People carrying elephant’s flesh on their head should not look for crickets underground NIGERIA

      10 Every flood will have an ebb SCOTLAND

92 HILLS – MOUNTAINS

      1 There is no hill without a slope WALES

      2 The more one walks the more hills one sees FINLAND

      3 There must be a valley between two hills GERMANY

      4 A horse never goes straight up a hill USA

      5 Anyone may laugh on a hillside SCOTLAND

      6 All hillbillies don’t live in the hills CANADA

      7 The highest hill is usually covered with clouds SCOTLAND

      8 Those who think they are building a mound may only in reality be digging a pit CHINA

      9 Mediocrity is climbing molehills without sweating ICELAND

      10 To fill a ditch a mound must come down ARMENIA

      11 If you don’t scale the mountain, you can’t see the plain CHINA

      12 Mountains cannot meet, people can BULGARIA

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

      14 Even if you cannot climb the mountain do not remain in the valley GERMANY

      15 There are many paths to the top of the mountain – but the view is always the same CHINA

      16 The boat of affection ascends even mountains BANGLADESH

      17 Rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff CHINA

      18 It is