As They Say In Zanzibar. David Crystal

you want to go fast, go the old road MYANMAR

      17 Don’t stand by the water and long for fish; go home and weave a net CHINA

      18 Going slowly doesn’t stop one arriving GUINEA

      19 What goes up must come down ENGLAND

      20 Conversation is a ladder for a journey SRI LANKA

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

      22 If the swing goes forward it will go backward too SRI LANKA

      23 Garbage in, garbage out USA

      24 Every flood will have an ebb SCOTLAND

      25 One must draw back in order to leap further FRANCE

      26 Who plays at bowls must expect the ball returned NETHERLANDS

      27 God, what things we see when we go out without a gun! SOUTH AFRICA

122 WALKING

      1 Promise is a bridge of words, unsafe to walk across GERMANY

      2 When walking through your neighbour’s melon-patch, don’t tie your shoe CHINA

      3 An empty sack can’t stand, nor a dead cat walk IRELAND

      4 Walk as your shoes will let you SCOTLAND

      5 The more one walks the more hills one sees FINLAND

      6 You have to learn to crawl before you can walk ENGLAND

      7 Knock before crossing even a stone bridge KOREA

      8 Don’t cross a bridge until you come to it ENGLAND

      9 A cat may go to a monastery, but she still remains a cat ETHIOPIA

      10 Those who have to go ten miles must regard nine as only halfway GERMANY

      11 Those who go barefoot aren’t pinched by their shoes GERMANY

      12 Fools rush in where angels fear to tread ENGLAND

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

      14 When you have trodden on the cat, what help is it to stroke her back? SWITZERLAND

123 RIDING

      1 It is not enough for people to know how to ride; they must know how to fall MEXICO

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

      3 Sickness comes riding on horseback and goes away on foot BELGIUM

      4 The toughest broncs is always them you’ve rode some other place USA

      5 There’s no such thing as a horse that can’t be rode or a cowboy that can’t be throwed USA

      6 Those who are not in the habit of riding forget the spurs IRELAND

      7 A horse never goes straight up a hill USA

124 CARRYING

      1 It takes little effort to watch someone carry a load CHINA

      2 When a blind person carries the banner, woe to those who follow FRANCE

      3 Let every pedlar carry his own pack GERMANY

      4 A full cup must be carried steadily ENGLAND

      5 You can’t carry what you can’t lift LATVIA

      6 The dog barks, the wind carries ESTONIA

      7 The one who carries the bludgeon owns the buffalo INDIA

      8 The basket that has two handles can be carried by two EGYPT

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

      10 An anchored ship doesn’t carry much cargo USA

      11 The shrimp that sleeps is carried away by the current CHILE

      12 Those who are carried down the stream need not row ENGLAND

      13 If you don’t hear the story clearly, don’t carry it off with you under your arm THAILAND

      14 Carrying-poles which bend easily do not break CHINA

      15 The absent always bear the blame NETHERLANDS

      16 If all get into the palanquin, who will be the bearers? INDIA

      17 Those who bring good news knock hard ENGLAND

      18 Fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts LATIN

      19 One buffalo brings mud and all the herd are smeared with it MALAYSIA

125 TRAVEL BY LAND

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

      2 A good driver turns in a small space FRANCE

      3 Don’t quit until the hearse comes round USA

      4 Never look an auto bargain under the hood USA

      5 Before God and the bus-conductor we are all equal GERMANY

      6 If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t ride USA

      7 Don’t get on the streetcar before it stops CANADA

      8 If my aunt had wheels, she might be an omnibus NETHERLANDS

      9 Oats pull the cart out of the mud SERBIA

      10 Don’t put the cart before the horse ENGLAND

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

      12 If all get into the palanquin, who will be the bearers? INDIA

      13 One broken rail will wreck a train USA

      14 Every train has a caboose USA

      15 Luck and bad luck are driving in the same sledge RUSSIA

      16 A low stump upsets the sledge FINLAND

      17 If you go to the wedding you cover up the sledge ESTONIA

      18 It is better to be once in the church sleigh than always in the back runners FINLAND

      19 Any spoke will lead the ant to the hub USA

      20 A greased cartwheel does not squeak ESTONIA

      21 The longer the spoke, the greater the tire USA

      22 The wheel that does the squeaking is the one that gets the grease USA

      23 Creaking wagons are long in passing NETHERLANDS

      24 A fifth wheel in the wagon hinders more than helps FRANCE

      25 The steam that blows the whistle never turns the wheel USA

      26 Gossip needs no carriage RUSSIA

126 TRAVEL BY SEA

      1 Before going to war say one prayer; before going to sea, two; before getting married, three POLAND

      2 Better lose the anchor than the whole ship NETHERLANDS

      3 An anchored ship doesn’t carry much cargo USA

      4 Those who wish to learn to pray must go to sea ENGLAND

      5 Those who go to sea without biscuits return without teeth FRANCE: CORSICA

      6 Don’t quote your proverb until you bring your ship to port SCOTLAND

      7 We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails GERMANY

      8 It’s no wonder that the herring vessel smells of herring SCOTLAND

      9 In a calm sea everyone is a pilot ENGLAND

      10 One should not board a ship without an onion NETHERLANDS

      11 You cannot damage a wrecked ship ITALY

      12 Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar ENGLAND

127 TRAVEL BY RIVER

      1 If you cross in a crowd, the