Tomorrow, in the apricots بكره في المشمش

There is an Arabic proverb that says Bukra fil mish-mish, which means tomorrow, in the apricots which MEANS when hell freezes over.
This adage is what originally piqued my interest in cultural proverbs from all over the world and here are a few that I really like
for your own mind.



خِيرْهَا فِى غِيرْهَا
xiirha fi Giirha
"Better Luck Next Time"- A better one in another one


إِلِّي بِيِيجِى هِنَاكْ بِيْرُوحْ هِنَاكْ
illi bi-yiigii hinaak bi-yruuH hinaak
“Easy come, easy go”-What comes this way, goes this way


أَكْل العِنَب حَبَّة حَبَّة
Akl il-3inab Habba Habba
“One step at a time”- Grapes are eaten one by one


عَدَم الجَوَاب جَوَاب
3adam ig-gawaab gawaab
“Silence speaks volumes”-No answer is an answer


حِلْم القُطَط كُلُّه فِرَان
Hilm il-uTaT kullu firaan
“To have a one track mind”- The dream of cats is all mice

أَكَل الجَمَل بِمَا حَمَل
akal il-gamal bi ma Hamal
“To eat someone out of house and home”-He ate the camel and all it carried

رِحْلِة الأَلْف مِيل تَبْدَأ بِخَطْوَة
riHlit il-alf miil tabda’ bixaTwa
“From small beginnings come great things” -"The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step"

طُبّ الجَرَّة عَلَى تُـمَّاهَا تِطْلَع البِنْت لِأُمَّهَا
Tub ig-garra 3ala tumaha tiTla3 il-bint li-ummaha
“Like mother, like daughter”- "Turn the pot upside down, the girl will still be like her mother"

Some Portuguese Proverbs

"A bom entendedor meia palavra basta."
o Translation: "To those that understand well half a word is enough."
o Meaning: Don't say more, I got it.
o Meaning: I won't tell you more, you can get at the idea yourself
o Equivalent: A word to the wise is enough / Half a word is enough for a wise man
o Equivalent in Greek: Ο νοών νοείτο. "The minded knows."

A fome é o melhor tempero."

* Translation: "Hunger is the best spice"

A grande nau, grande tormenta."

* Translation: To big ships, big storms.


and of course...


I couldn't leave the Poles out in the colds.

Baba z wozu, koniom lżej

* Word-for-word translation: When a woman has got off a wagon, horses have an easier time

* Bez pracy nie ma kołaczy
o Word-for-word translation: No labour, no oilcakes
o Latin equivalent: Sine labore non erit panis in ore
o English equivalent: No pain, no gain

* Gdy pies je, to nie szczeka, bo mu miska ucieka
o Word-for-word translation: When the dog eats, he doesn't bark, or his food will run away
o Meaning: Don't talk with your mouth full.

* Gdzie diabeł nie może, tam babę pośl
o Word-for-word translation: Where the Devil can't go, he'll send a woman
o Meaning: Women often cause trouble.

* Gdzie dwóch się bije, tam trzeci korzysta
o Word-for-word translation:
+ Where two people fight against each other, the third one wins
+ Where two are fighting (arguing, suing); it is another who benefits

Jak sobie pościelisz, tak się wyśpisz
o Word-for-word translation: You rest the way you have made your bed
o English equivalent: As ye sow, so shall ye reap

* Meaning: Bigger enterprises/projects have more and more difficult problems.





מן המקום בו אנו צודקים לא יפרחו לעולם פרחים באביב (יהודה עמיחי)
From the place where we are right, flowers will never grow in the spring
-Yhuda Amihay

Most men are rather stupid, and most of those who are not stupid are, consequently, rather vain.
-A.E. Housman

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.
-Wittgenstein


goodnight world.