A crayfish whistling on the hill, imps living on the riverbed, and crying over lost hair when your head’s been cut off. These odd sayings are the Russian analogs of well-known English aphorisms.
1.The ship has sailed – Поезд ушел – The train has gone
2.What goes around, comes around – За что боролись, на то и напоролись – We got shafted by what we were fighting for
3.Walk the walk and talk the talk – Назвался груздем, полезай в кузов – If you call yourself a milk mushroom, go in the basket
4. No use crying over spilled milk – Снявши голову, по волосам не плачут – No use crying over lost hair when your head’s been cut off
5.Fortune favors the brave – Волков бояться – в лес не ходить – If you’re afraid of wolves, don’t go into the forest
6. No pain, no gain – Без труда не вытащишь и рыбку из пруда – Without hard work, you won’t even be able to catch a fish in the pond
7. Still water runs deep – В тихом омуте черти водятся – In a quiet pool, imps live
UzbekIL/Pixabay, Oskar/Pixabay
8. When in Rome, do as the Romans do – В Тулу со своим самоваром не ездят – You don’t go to Tula with your own samovar [the city of Tula is famous for its samovars]
9. Thatch your roof before the rain begins – Готовь сани летом, а телегу зимой – Prepare the sledge in the summer, and the cart in the winter
10. A leopard never changes its spots – Горбатого могила исправит – Only a grave can cure a hunchback
11. Beggars cannot be choosers – Дареному коню в зубы не смотрят – Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
12. If my aunt had been a man, she'd have been my uncle – Если бы да кабы, да во рту росли грибы (То был бы не рот, а целый огород) – What if mushrooms grew in one’s mouth? (Then it would not be a mouth but a garden)
13. Once a thief, always a thief – Зарекся кувшин по воду ходить – The pitcher refuses to fetch the water
14. And pigs might fly – Когда рак на горе свистнет – When a crayfish whistles on the mountain
UzbekIL/Pixabay, Rawpixel/Pixabay
15. Let the dead bury their dead – Кто старое помянет, тому глаз вон – Who mentions the past will be left without an eye
16. Never fry a fish till it's caught – Не дели шкуру неубитого медведя – Don’t divide the hide of a bear you didn’t kill yet
17. A small leak will sink a great ship – От копеечной свечи Москва сгорела – From a candle that cost a kopeck, Moscow burned to the ground
18. There is no fool like an old fool – Седина в бороду, бес в ребро – A grey hair in one’s beard brings an imp into one’s rib
19.The word after it’s said cannot be called back – Слово – не воробей, вылетит – не поймаешь – A word is not a sparrow, after it flies out you won’t catch it
20.The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence – В чужом саду всегда малина слаще – In the other man’s garden, the raspberries are always sweeter
21. Too many cooks spoil the broth – У семи нянек дитя без глазу – A child that is cared for by seven nannies loses an eye
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