Greek Proverb of the Day

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Ἄλλην δρῦν βαλάνιζε.

• ἄλλην, from ἄλλος.
• δρῦν, from δρῦς.
• βαλάνιζε, from βαλανίζω (from βάλανος)

Ἄλλην δρῦν βαλάνιζε.

Shake down acorns from some other oak.

In other words: stop borrowing money from me; go borrow from somebody else! The verb βαλανίζω is from the noun βάλανος, meaning "acorn," i.e. "acorn-ize." From the Greek root ἄλλ-, we get English words like allograph, which is a signature that someone makes for another person. 

And here's a quiz covering the past five cats (answers at the blog only, not in the email):

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

---

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

reveal/hide answer

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

---

Ἄλλην ______ βαλάνιζε.

reveal/hide answer

Ἄλλην δρῦν βαλάνιζε.

---

Αἲξ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

---

Σπεῦδε ______.

reveal/hide answer

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb of the Day: October 11

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

• ἕνα, from εἷς.
• ἀλλὰ
• λέοντα, from λέων.

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

One, but a lion.

This is the punchline to an Aesop's fable: when the fox rebukes the lioness for having only one cub, this is the lioness's reply. That's why the words are in the accusative: "(I have only) one (cub), but (he is) a lion." In other words, all the offspring of the fox could never equal a single lion. Here are some English versions of the Aesop's fable.

And here's a quiz covering the past five cats (answers at the blog only, not in the email):

Σπεῦδε ______.

reveal/hide answer

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

---

Μνήμην ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μνήμην καμήλου.

---

Αἲξ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

---

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

---

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

reveal/hide answer

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb of the Day: October 10

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

• πολλὰ, from πολύς.
• καινὰ, from καινός.
• τοῦ, from ὁ.
• πολέμου, from πόλεμος

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

War brings many strange things.

Literally, "Literally, "Many (are) the new/strange things of war." Bentley includes this Greek saying in his Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris, applying the saying quite wittily to the strange anachronistic contradictions he discovers in the process of debunking the letters and attributing them not to the 6th century B.C.E. but to the 2nd century C.E.

And here's a quiz covering the past five cats (answers at the blog only, not in the email):

Μνήμην ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μνήμην καμήλου.

---

Σπεῦδε ______.

reveal/hide answer

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

---

Αἲξ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

---

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

reveal/hide answer

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

---

Μίδου ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μίδου χρήματα.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb of the Day: October 9

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

• αἴξ.
• θάλασσαν, from θάλασσα.

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

The goat (sees) the sea.

The idea is that the goat is amazed by the sea, and looks at it with fascination because it is something entirely new. Goats live in mountains and valleys; they do not often get to see the sea, so the saying is used to refer to someone who is staring in amazement at something they have not seen before.

And here's a quiz covering the past four cats (answers at the blog only, not in the email):

Μνήμην ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μνήμην καμήλου.

---

Σπεῦδε ______.

reveal/hide answer

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

---

Αἲξ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

---

Μίδου ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μίδου χρήματα.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb of the Day: October 8

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

• σπεῦδε, from σπεύδω (imperative).
• βραδέως, from βραδύς (adverb).

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

Hurry up slowly.

In other words: don't be slow, but don't be too fast either! This phrase became popular as a Latin saying, which has its own Wikipedia article: Festina lente. Compare a similarly paradoxical English saying: "More haste, less speed."

And here's a quiz covering the past three cats (answers at the blog only, not in the email):

Μνήμην ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μνήμην καμήλου.

---

Μίδου ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μίδου χρήματα.

---

Σπεῦδε ______.

reveal/hide answer

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb of the Day: October 7

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Μνήμην καμήλου.

• μνήμην, from μνήμη.
• καμήλου, from κάμηλος.

Μνήμην καμήλου.

(He has) the memory of a camel.

The Greeks believed that the camel had a good memory. A related proverb states: μνησικακία καμήλου, "the camel's remembrance of wrongs" (μνησι-κακία), i.e. the camel remembers any person who has treated it badly and will seek revenge. You can see the root μνημ- in the name Μνημοσύνη, the Greek goddess of memory: Wikipedia: Mnemosyne.

And here's a quiz covering the past two cats:

Μίδου ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μίδου χρήματα.

---

Μνήμην ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μνήμην καμήλου.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb of the Day: October 6

Here is today's proverb from the blog with a LOLcat and vocabulary too! This is a repeat of a proverb you've seen before, but the vocabulary list is new. The vocabulary links go to Logeion.

Μίδου χρήματα.

• Μίδου, from Μίδας. 
• χρήματα, from χρῆμα. 

Μίδου χρήματα.

The money of Midas.

King Midas was legendary for his wealth, but the "touch of gold" came at a terrible price; you can read the story at Wikipedia: Midas. Erasmus cites some other Greek sayings about the proverbially wealthy Midas: Μίδου πλοῦτος, "the wealth of Midas" and Μίδου πλουσιώτερος, "richer than Midas."

And here's a quiz:

Μίδου ______.

reveal/hide answer

Μίδου χρήματα.

---

And to finish up, here's a random LOLCat too:

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---