Famous proverbs by Chinua Achebe

If you want to eat a toad, you should look for a fat and juicy oneAn old woman is never old when it comes to the dance she knows When the moon is shinning the cripple becomes hungry for a walk

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

If you want to eat a toad, you should look for a fat and juicy oneAn old woman is never old when it comes to the dance she knows

When the moon is shinning the cripple becomes hungry for a walkThe fox must be chased away first; after that the hen might be warned against wandering into the bushA man does not challenge his chi(god) to a wrestling matchWhen a handshake goes beyond the elbow we know it has turned to another thingThe fly that has no one to advise it follows the corpse into the graveWisdom is like a goatskin bag; every man carries his ownLooking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breastThe sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under themThe man who has never submitted to anything will soon submit to the burial matHe who has people is richer than he who has moneyIf a child washed his hands he could eat with kingsA woman who carries her head on a rigid neck as if she is carrying a pot of water will never live long with any husbandAn old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverbThe greatest liar among men still speaks the truth to his sonIf you pay homage to the man on top, others will pay homage to you when it is your turn to be on topIf one finger brings oil it soils the othersThe lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else didAn only palm fruit does not get lost in the fireAn adult does not sit and watch while the she-goat suffers the pain of child birth tied to a postA man who brings home ant-infested faggots should not complain if he is visited by lizardsThe man who has no gift for speaking says his kinsmen have said all there is to sayWe do not by-pass a man and enter his compoundWhatever tune you play in the compound of a great man there is always someone to dance to itA boy who tries to wrestle with his father gets blinded by the old man’s loin clothIt is not right to a man with elephantiasis of the scrotum to take on small pox as well, when thousands of other people have not had even their share of small diseases.