Peculiar Proverbs: Weird Words of Wisdom from Around the World
Dec 2008 · Sold by St. Martin's Press
Ebook
272
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
Peculiar Proverbs is a hilarious and enlightening collection of genuine proverbs from around the world that ignores the sayings we are all familiar with and focuses on the more obscure. Some are deft, witty, and colorful, others are just plain weird, but they are all fascinating.
The proverbs are grouped in topics ranging from work (or reasons not to), family life, love, food, age, religion, money, and many more. Humor and wisdom characterize these bizarre and quirky sayings, and they reveal much about their countries of origin, and plenty about human nature.
Peculiar Proverbs includes sayings you won't find in any other collection, sometimes so surreal they defy you to decipher them, providing hours of entertainment. Remember: The man who tickles himself can laugh when he chooses.
*Dogs and rude people have no hands (Italy)
*God preserve us from pitchforks, for they make three holes (Switzerland)
*It is not necessary for priests to marry as long as peasants have wives (Germany)
*A mother-in-law, like the yucca tree, is useful underground (Cuba)
*Better the gurgling of a camel than the prayers of a fish (Egypt)
*Give a dog an appetizing name, and eat him (China)
*There are two good people: one of them is dead, and the other one was not born (Estonia)
*Mediocrity is climbing a molehill without sweating (Iceland)
*You cannot drink water, it is not vodka (Russia)
*A cow pat is wider when trodden on (Ireland)
The proverbs are grouped in topics ranging from work (or reasons not to), family life, love, food, age, religion, money, and many more. Humor and wisdom characterize these bizarre and quirky sayings, and they reveal much about their countries of origin, and plenty about human nature.
Peculiar Proverbs includes sayings you won't find in any other collection, sometimes so surreal they defy you to decipher them, providing hours of entertainment. Remember: The man who tickles himself can laugh when he chooses.
*Dogs and rude people have no hands (Italy)
*God preserve us from pitchforks, for they make three holes (Switzerland)
*It is not necessary for priests to marry as long as peasants have wives (Germany)
*A mother-in-law, like the yucca tree, is useful underground (Cuba)
*Better the gurgling of a camel than the prayers of a fish (Egypt)
*Give a dog an appetizing name, and eat him (China)
*There are two good people: one of them is dead, and the other one was not born (Estonia)
*Mediocrity is climbing a molehill without sweating (Iceland)
*You cannot drink water, it is not vodka (Russia)
*A cow pat is wider when trodden on (Ireland)
About the author
Stephen Arnott is the author of Now Wash Your Hands!, a cultural history of the toilet, Eating Your Auntie Is Wrong, a collection of the world's strangest customs, as well as Sex: A User's Guide and Man Walks into a Bar. Born in Jamaica, he lives in South London with his partner and daughter.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
