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loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Monday, October 10, 2016

proverbs from the persian


...and Hindustani, as compiled by scholar Thomas Roebuck from 1781-1819.  That's a long time to compile anything...

226. The cat does not kill mice for GOD.
To express that the person spoken of does good from interested motives.

227. The cat dreams of garbage.
Applied to one who on all occasions brings forward his own wants.

228. By the cat's good luck the string (by which something eatable was suspended) is broken, (so that puss can get hold of it. )
Spoken of one who meets with some unexpected good fortune, or if promoted far above his merits.

596. The cat of the banquet.
(One who presents himself uninvited at every feast.)

1307. A dog without a tail.
A foolish, worthless babbler.

1309. A yellow dog is a jackal's brother.
When one bad person succeeds to the place of another, this saying is used.

1312. It is better to make friends with the dog that bites.
It is better to hold a candle to the devil.

1313. The dog of every door.
A flatterer, a parasite.

1314. A dog has taken the cook's place.
To express that one has got a place for which he is quite unfit.

1315. The dog of a useless chain.
A person of a changeable disposition, who attaches himself sometimes to one patron or master and sometimes another.

-- Roebuck, T. (1824). A collection of proberbs: and proverbial phrases, in the Persian and Hindoostanee languages. Calcutta: Printed at the Hindoostanee press. Passim.  Yes, it says "Proberbs."

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