Ever heard of the Netherlandish Proverbs? This iconic 1559 painting depicts an absurdist scene to literally illustrate Dutch language proverbs. Or maybe you’ve seen the 20th century American spin-off Proverbidioms? Well there’s a new iteration in town: Graphic designer Ah To decided to do his bit to preserve Catonese linguistic culture, so he recently published an awesome comic called "The Great Canton and Hong Kong Proverbs.” There are animals and ghosts galore in this entertaining rendition of 81 Cantonese proverbs.
English-translations of the proverbs include:
- “If you have money, you can make a ghost push a millstone.” Meaning: Everything is possible with money!
- “Masquerade as a ghost and as a horse.” Meaning: To trick someone.
- “A ghost draws a talisman.” Meaning: Illegible handwriting.
- “A ghost eats mud.” Meaning: To slur your words.
- “Fly an elephant across the river.” Meaning: To break a rule
- “Even the Buddha gets inflamed.” Meaning: To doing something intolerable.
- “Using dog meat in the place of lamb.” Meaning: To be deceitful.
- “Loose string monkey.” Meaning: A very naughty child.
- “To stir-fry squid.” Meaning: To dismiss an employee.
- “To eat slippers rice.” Meaning: A man who is supported by a woman. (I.e. he can keep his slippers on, because he doesn’t work).
Your move, Mandarin. (Image: commons.wikimedia.org).
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