Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for V300 returned 1774 results.
PROVERB
TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; DORM ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 06-16-1970
PROVERB: COOKING
TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH.
Submitter comment:
IF TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO HELP PREPARE THE FOOD,
SOME ARE MORE IN THE WAY THAN THEY ARE OF HELP; THEREFORE,
SOME ITEM OF FOOD WILL PROBABLY BE IMPROPERLY PREPARED.
Where learned: WEST VIRGINIA ; SALEM
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
LANGUAGE: THE WILDFLOWERS OF THOUGHT
"TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH"--
"TWO MIDWIVES WILL DELIVER A BABY WITH A CROOKED HEAD."
"WITH SO MANY ROOSTERS CROWING, THE SUN NEVER COMES UP."
"WITH SEVEN NURSES, THE CHILD GOES BLIND."
"TOO MANY BOATMEN RUN THE BOAT UP TO THE TOP OF THE
MOUNTAIN."
"IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS,"
"IT LEAKS AT THE GUNWALE, IT LEAKS IN THE KEEL."
"AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH,"
"A GOAT'S HIDE BUYS A GOAT'S HIDE AND A GOURD A GOURD."
"A SOFT ANSWER TURNETH AWAY WRATH,"
Submitter comment:
SO GOES A PROVERB THAT IS AS FAMILIAR TO MOST AMERICANS AS
ITS MEANING. THE IRANIANS EXPRESSED THE SAME THOUGHT WITH
DIFFERENT WORDS:
SO DO THE ITALIANS:
THE RUSSIANS:
AND THE JAPANESE:
THESE LEAN, DIDACTIC, APHORISTIC STATEMENTS, SO VARIED IN
THEIR LANGUAGE, SEEM TO DISTILL A UNIVERSAL WISDOM. IN THE
SAMOAN FISHING CULTURE, WHICH IS DEPENDENT ON THE CANOE,
ISLANDERS WOULD HAVE NO DIFFICULTY IN RECOGNIZING THE
KINSHIP OF THE ENGLISH PROVERB,
TO ONE OF THEIR OWN:
FROM THE BIBLICAL INJUNCTION,
IT IS ONLY A SHORT AND NEGOTIABLE STEP TO AN OLD SAYING
OF THE NANDI TRIBE IN EAST AFRICA:
HIDDEN CODE. CAN IT BE THAT THE PROVERB--LITERALLY,
"BEFORE THE WORD"--PROVIDES A CLUE TO THE COMMON
DENOMINATOR OF ALL HUMAN THOUGHT? THIS POSSIBILITY HAS
BEEN RAISED BY GEORGE B. MILNER, 50, A LINGUIST AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON'S SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN
STUDIES. MANY ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND LINGUISTS HAVE LONG
SUSPECTED THAT THE HUMAN MIND OBEYS A HIDDEN CODE--JUST
AS THE COMPUTER FOLLOWS INSTRUCTIONS PROGRAMMED INTO IT
BEFORE IT BEGINS TO "THINK." IN AN ARTICLE FOR BRITAIN'S
"NEW SOCIETY" MAGAZINE, MILNER CONTENDS THAT THE PROVERB
MAY STAND BREATHTAKINGLY NEAR TO THE SOURCE OF THAT CODE.
MILNER'S INTEREST IN THE PROVERB BEGAN IN 1955, WHEN HE
FLEW TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC TO COMPILE THE FIRST SAMOAN
DICTIONARY SINCE 1862. THERE HE FOUND A RIGIDLY STRATIFIED
CULTURE THAT RELIED ON THE PROVERB AS A GUIDE THROUGH THE
THICKET OF SOCIAL LIFE. THE SAMOANS HAD PROVERBS FOR EVERY
HUMAN EXCHANGE, SAYS MILNER: "TO PAY RESPECT, TO EXPRESS
PLEASURE, SYMPATHY, REGRET, TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH, TO BLAME
OR CRITICIZE, TO APOLOGIZE, TO INSULT, THANK, CAJOLE, ASK
A FAVOR, SAY FAREWELL." INTRIGUED, HE COLLECTED THOUSANDS
OF THESE PITHY SAYINGS.
BACK IN ENGLAND, MILNER COMPARED HIS SAMOAN STOCK WITH THE
PROVERBS CURRENT IN EUROPE, AND WAS STRUCK BY THE MANY
SIMILARITIES IN STRUCTURE, RHYTHM AND CONTENT. IT WAS
ALMOST AS IF THE PROVERB SHARED A COMMON SOURCE. SINCE
THIS WAS CULTURALLY IMPOSSIBLE, MILNER CONSIDERED ANOTHER
POTENTIAL ORIGIN: THE UNIVERSALITY OF HUMAN THOUGHT.
REGARDLESS OF THEIR GENESIS, MILNER ARGUES, THE BEST
PROVERBS EASILY TRANSCEND ETHNIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL BARRIERS.
THEY DEAL IN THE FUNDAMENTAL STUFF OF LIFE: LOVE AND WAR,
BIRTH AND DEATH, SICKNESS AND HEALTH, WORK AND PLAY. LIKE
THE HUMAN MIND ITSELF, THEY SEEK THE CORE MEANING OF THINGS
AND THE SATISFYING SYMMETRY OF ANTITHESIS. THEY TOUCH THE
TAPROOTS OF THE MIND WITHOUT REQUIRING THE SERVICE OF THE
INTELLECT.
PRECURSOR SAGE. MANY WORDS IN A GIVEN LANGUAGE CAN BE
TRACED TO THEIR ROOT ORIGINS BY A SKILLED LEXICOGRAPHER.
THE ANCESTRY OF PROVERBS CAN RARELY BE DETERMINED WITH
SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY. AESCHYLUS WAS AS FAMILIAR AS SOLOMON
WITH THE PROVERB,
BUT NO ONE CAN SAY TO WHAT PRECURSOR SAGE BOTH MEN OWED THE
SAYING. IT REMAINS A MYSTERY, MOREOVER, WHY SOME
CIVILIZATIONS ARE RICH IN PROVERBS AND OTHERS ARE NOT. WHY
DID THE INCAS, THE MAYANS AND NEARLY ALL THE INDIAN TRIBES
OF NORTH AMERICA PRODUCE SUCH A MEAGER CROP OF PROVERBS,
WHEN THE SPANIARDS, THE SAMOANS, THE ARABS AND THE CHINESE
WERE MINTING THEM BY THE THOUSANDS?
THE ANSWERS MUST AWAIT FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THAT GREATEST
MYSTERY OF ALL: THE PROCESSES OF THE MIND. MILNER'S
CONTENTION IS THAT THE PROVERB, THE WILD FLOWER OF HUMAN
WISDOM, MAY NOW HELP TO DIRECT THE SEARCH INTO THE DEEP.
"TIME" MAGAZINE, MARCH 14, 1969, PP.74, 76.
Where learned: NOT GIVEN
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
PROVERB
TO SAVE A PENNY IS TO MAKE A PENNY.
Where learned: ALABAMA ; ALBERTVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim PROVERB -- Proverbial Phrase |
Date learned: 08-00-1968
PROVERB
TO YIELD TO DESPAIR IS USELESS; THE DARKEST DAY MAY
WEAR A SUNNY FACE TOMORROW.
Submitter comment: IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 10, 1851.
Where learned: CALIFORNIA ; WOLF CREEK
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 08-10-1851
NOT GIVEN
TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION.
Where learned: KENTUCKY ; OWENSBORO
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 03-00-1972
PROVERB
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE.
Submitter comment:
THIS MEANS THAT IF YOU'RE HAVING A PROBLEM OR TRYING TO
SOLVE SOMETHING, OTHER PEOPLE CAN PERHAPS HELP YOU SOLVE
IT.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Date learned: 02-23-1972
TWO HEADS
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE EVEN IF ONE OF THEM IS A
SHEEP'S HEAD.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Date learned: 07-00-1968
PROVERB
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
PROVERB
TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 06-16-1970
RIGHT AND WRONG
TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT.
Where learned: ALABAMA ; MONTGOMERY
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
PROVERB
USE TWO HANDS WHILE LEARNING.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 06-27-1970
PROVERB
USE YOUR HEAD TO SAVE YOUR HEELS.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE ; PEABODY COLLEGE LIBRARY
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 05-01-1969
PROVERB
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; DORM ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 06-16-1970
PROVERB
WAR IS HELL, HELL.
Where learned: KENTUCKY ; LOUISVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
PROVERBIAL PHRASE
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.
Submitter comment:
THIS EXPRESSION WAS USED WHEN THE FAMILY WAS CLEANING UP
DEBRIS FROM A LARGE CEDAR TREE THAT FELL DURING A STORM.
THE FATHER WAS CUTTING OFF THE BRANCHES WITH A POWER SAW,
AND THEN CUTTING UP THE BRANCH FOR FIREWOOD. THE CHILDREN
WERE TAKING THE SMALL BRANCHES TO THE FIRE TO BURN THEM.
A QUESTION AROSE AS TO WHAT SIZE WAS BIG ENOUGH TO SAVE;
THE MOTHER ADMONISHED THE DAUGHTER NOT TO BURN THE BRANCH,
THAT IT WAS TOO BIG AND COULD BE USED. THE DAUGHTER LOOKED
AROUND AT ALL THE BRANCHES AND LIMBS THAT FILLED THE SIDE
YARD AND SAID, "WE'VE GOT PLENTY," AND THE MOTHER REPLIED,
"WASTE NOT, WANT NOT." APRIL 1972--MY FAMILY.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON
Keyword(s): ELLIPSIS
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 04-00-1972
PROVERB
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.
Where learned: KENTUCKY ; OWENSBORO
Keyword(s): ELLIPSIS
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 03-00-1972
PROVERBIAL PHRASE
WATCH OUT FOR FALLING ROCK, HE'S BOLDER THAN YOU THINK.
Submitter comment:
THIS IS WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU PAST (PASS) THE SIGN ON THE
HIGHWAY THAT SAYS "WATCH FOR FALLING ROCK" OR "FALLEN ROCK
ZONE." FIRST YOU READ THE SIGN OUT LOUD, THEN SAY "WATCH
OUT . . . ." AND THEN LAUGH REAL LOUD. EVERYBODY ELSE
GOES "OHHHHH." GIVEN TO ME BY LYNN FISHER, WHEN SHE WAS
NINE YEARS OLD, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, 1968 SUMMER.
Where learned: KENTUCKY ; LOUISVILLE
Keyword(s): WORDPLAY
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 06-00-1968
SAYING
WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES--WHERE THERE'S ONE, THERE'S TWO.
Where learned: NASHVILLE ; TENNESSEE, ASSUMED
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 06-00-1972
MAXIM
WELL, THERE'S THIS PHRASE THAT I'VE HEARD ALL MY LIFE
AND THAT IS, "ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD."
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 08-12-1968