Proverb and Idioms

PROVERB

Proverb is a brief, simple and popular saying, or a phrase that gives advice and effectively embodies a commonplace truth based on practical experience or common sense. A proverb may have an allegorical message behind its odd appearance. The reason of popularity is due to its usage in spoken language as well as in the folk literature. Some authors twist and bend proverbs and create anti-proverbs to add literary effects to their works. However, in poetry, poets use proverbs strategically by employing some parts of them in poems’ titles such as Lord Kennet has written a poem, A Bird in the Bush, which is a popular proverb. Some poems contain multiple proverbs like Paul Muldoon’s poem Symposium.

A. Function of Proverb

Proverbs play very important roles in different types of literary works. The most important function of proverbs is to teach and educate the audience. They often contain an expert advice with a role for educating the readers on what they may face if they would do something. Hence, proverbs play a didactic role, as they play a universal role in teaching wisdom and sagacity to the common people. Since proverbs are usually metaphorical and indirect; therefore, they allow writers to express their message in a less harsh way.

B. Examples of Proverbs in Literature

Example 1 :

From William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

“The weakest goes to the wall.”

The weak people are never favored.

“He that is strucken blind cannot forget

The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.”

A man who loses his eyesight can never forget the importance of lost eyesight.
“One fire burns out another’s burning,

One pain is lessen’d by another’s anguish.”

You can burn new fire from lightening another fire, similarly a new pain could mitigate your old pain.

C. Proverbs Throughout the World

African Proverbs

Across the vast continent of Africa, many African nations disseminated proverbs that were meant to educate and inspire those who used them.

Here are a few examples of African proverbs :

a)    “A tree is known by its fruit” – (of Zulu origin - this means that success is shown by the deeds.)

b)    “I have been bitten by a tsetse fly” – (of Tanzanian origin – this means that a person will continuously be a pest until you pay off a debt.)

c)    “The word of friend makes you cry – the word of an enemy makes you laugh” – (of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – this means that a friend will tell you the truth and sometimes the truth hurts, whereas an enemy will only lead you down the wrong path by giving you advice that seems good but is not.)

Asian Proverbs

Some examples of Asian proverbs include the following :

a)    “The old horse in the stable still yearns to run” – (this means that those who are older still have things they would like to accomplish.)

b)   “A spark can start a fire that burns the entire prairie” – (this means that a small problem can snowball into a huge problem that can cause major damage.)

 c)    “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” – (this means that teaching people is better in the long run because it gives them the skills to provide for themselves as opposed to you doing things for them.) 

American Proverbs

Some examples of American based proverbs include :

a)    "Absence makes the heart grow fonder” – (this means that when you separate from someone that you love by putting distance between you that you will inevitably love them more and yearn to see them.)

b)   "All that glitters is not gold” – (this means that just because something looks good, does not necessarily mean that it is good.)

c)    "A monkey in silk is a monkey no less” – (this means that just because someone dresses fancy does not necessarily mean that they are fancy or of good character.)

English Proverbs

Some examples of English proverbs include :

a)    Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

b)   It’s no use locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

c)    Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.

d)   See a pin and pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck; see a pin and let it lie, bad luck you’ll have all day.

e)    ‘Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.

f)    Monday’s child is fair of face/Tuesday’s child is full of grace,/Wednesday’s child is full of woe,/Thursday’s child has far to go,/Friday’s child is loving and giving,/Saturday’s child works hard for its living/And a child that’s born on the Sabbath day/Is fair and wise and good and gay.


Proverbs from Other Countries

a)    Arabic Proverb: An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.

b)   Finnish proverb: Even a small star shines in the darkness.

c)    Italian Proverb: After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.

d)   Jewish Proverb: God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

e)    Russian Proverb: Better to stumble than make a slip of the tongue.

f)    Spanish Proverb: Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.

D. Role of Proverbs in Society

Proverbs play many roles in society. The first, possibly, most common role that a proverb plays is to educate. Most often tossed around as expert advice in conversation, the innate role to educate people on what might happen if they do something. Think of a proverb as a little tidbit of wisdom that just about everyone – no matter where they are from – can offer. There is a proverb for just about every circumstance, and proverbs can be applied to any situation. 

English and American proverbs are almost second nature when delivered. The origins are quite often little known, yet the expressions are popular. Ethnic proverbs, on the other hand, may be a little deeper to digest, and require non-natives of the proverb’s country of origin, to think about the meaning in order to better understand how it applies to their lives.

A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim. Proverbs fall into the category of formulaic language.

Proverbs are often borrowed from similar languages and cultures, and sometimes come down to the present through more than one language. Both the Bible (including, but not limited to the Book of Proverbs) and medieval Latin (aided by the work of Erasmus) have played a considerable role in distributing proverbs across Europe. Mieder has concluded that cultures that treat the Bible as their "major spiritual book contain between three hundred and five hundred proverbs that stem from the Bible." However, almost every culture has examples of its own unique proverbs.

Examples :

a)    Haste makes waste

b)   A stitch in time saves nine

c)    Ignorance is bliss

d)   Mustn't cry over spilled milk.

e)    You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

f)    You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

g)   Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

h)   A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

i)     Fortune favours the bold

j)     Well begun is half done.

IDIOMS

An idiom (also called idiomatic expression) is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning conventionally understood by native speakers. An interesting fact regarding the device is that the expression is not interpreted literally. The phrase is understood as to mean something quite different from what individual words of the phrase would imply. Alternatively, it can be said that the phrase is interpreted in a figurative sense. Further, idioms vary in different cultures and countries. This meaning is different from the literal meaning of the idiom's individual elements. In other words, idioms don't mean exactly what the words say. They have, however, hidden meaning.

Idiom Examples

Example 1 :

“Every cloud has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the mint.”

The statement quoted above uses “silver lining” as an idiom which means some auspicious moment is lurking behind the cloud or the difficult time.

Example 2 :

“American idioms drive me up the hall!”

Here, the word “idioms” is used as an idiom.

Example 3 :

“I worked the graveyard shift with old people, which was really demoralizing, because the old people didn’t have a chance in hell of ever getting out.”

In the extract quoted above, “graveyard shift” is employed as an idiom.

Example 4 :

“As happy as a clam”

Mary was happy as a clam on the day of her wedding.

Meaning : Pleased, very content

Origin : So why in the world would a clam ever be happy? They're shellfish, they don't have feelings. The expression most likely began because when a clam's shell is opened up, it does look like the clam is smiling.

Other Example :

“A hot potato”

Speak of an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputed

“A penny for your thoughts”

A way of asking what someone is thinking

“Actions speak louder than words”

People's intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.

“Add insult to injury”

To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavorable situation.

“An arm and a leg”

Very expensive or costly. A large amount of money.

“At the drop of a hat”

Meaning: without any hesitation; instantly.

“Back to the drawing board”

When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over.

“Ball is in your court”

It is up to you to make the next decision or step

“Barking up the wrong tree”

Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person

Functions of Idiom

Writers and public speakers use idioms generously. The purpose behind this vast use of idioms is to ornate their language, make it richer and spicier and help them in conveying subtle meanings to their intended audience. Not only do idioms help in making the language beautiful, they also make things better or worse through making the expression good or bad.

For example, there are several idioms that convey the death of a person in highly subtle meanings and some do the same in very offensive terms. They are also said to be exact and more correct than the literal words and sometimes a few words are enough to replace a full sentence. They help the writer make his sense clearer than it is, so that he could convey maximum meanings through minimum words and also keep the multiplicity of the meanings in the text intact.

It has also been seen that idioms not only convey subtle meanings but also convey a phenomenon that is not being conveyed through normal and everyday language and also they keep the balance in the communication. Furthermore, they provide textual coherence, so that the reader could be able to piece together a text that he has gone through and extract meanings the writer has conveyed.