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Josephat Hema
Scott M
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Proverbs

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Updated 5mo ago
by
Scott M
View this proverb in English
Hunger is the best sauce
Kadiri hamu ya kula inavyoongezeka, chakula kina ladha bora.

Methali hiyo ilionekana kwa mara ya kwanza katika kitabu cha Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote, kilichochapishwa mwaka wa 1615 (katika Sehemu ya II, Sura ya V)

Mara nyingi wazazi husema hivi kwa watoto wao wanapokuwa walaji kwa fujo.
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Other proverbs
Hunger is the best sauce
As the appetite increases, food tastes better.

The proverb first appeared in Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, published in 1615 (in Part II, Chapter V)

Parents often say this to their children when they are fussy eaters.
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Updated 5mo ago
by
Scott M
1
It takes two to tango
This proverb means that there are some things you can't do alone. The tango is dance for two people, so you can't dance the tango alone.

The proverb comes from a 1952 song It Takes Two to Tango:
You can sail in a ship by yourself,
Take a nap or a nip by yourself.
You can get into debt on your own.
There are lots of things that you can do alone.
But it takes two to tango, two to tango...
- It Takes Two to Tango (1952, Al Hoffman, Dick Manning and Pearl Bailey) - Check out the sources to listen to the original recording!

This proverb has many different meanings that you can apply in your daily life and relationships.  There are lots of things in life that require more than one person: It takes two people to cooperate, to make a bargain or to engage in a fight. You may really want to dance with someone, but if they don't want to dance with you, it's better to move on.  Similarly, if you're in a fight, consider how your own behavior might be contributing to continuing the fight. A dance isn't about being perfect, it's about being in time with your partner and enjoying the experience. 

Similar proverbs from Africa:
Egyptian (Arabic):
ايد لوحدها ماتسقفش‎
One hand can't clap

Swahili:
Bila mtu wa pili ugomvi hauanzi
Without a second person a quarrel cannot start

Kidole kimoja hakiuwi chawa
One finger doesn't kill a louse

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Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy
What goes around comes around
This proverb means that we often get treated the same way we treat others. It is usually negatively, as a warning, or when a person who acted immorally gets their comeuppance. It could also be used as a promise of blessings to those who do good.  A third possible meaning is that Often compared to the Hindu doctrine of karma, the exact origin of the proverb is uncertain, but it seems to have emerged in the US in middle of the last century.

Related proverbs and quotes:
Shakespeare 
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips.  (Macbeth Act I, Scene 7) 
Bible:
As you sow, so shall you reap (Galatians 6:7)
Chinese:
善有善報，惡有惡報
Good is rewarded with good, and evil with evil.
German
Wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es heraus
What you shout into the forest, will echo out again

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Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy
1
Little by little fills up the jar
Large tasks in life need to tackled in small steps, day by day. This proverb comes from Swahili:
Haba na haba hujaza kibaba
Little by little fills up the jar

Can you think of other similar proverbs that encourage the same way of thinking? 

This saying reminds be of a poem called "Little Things" by Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney:
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
     
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity. 
Julia Carney composed this poem in 1845 as a student in class -- and she was given only 10 minutes to write it!
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Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy