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.

Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

• μακραὶ, from μακρός.
• τυράννων, from τύραννος.
• χεῖρες, from χείρ.

Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

Long (are) the hands of tyrants.

Compare the English proverb, "Kings have long arms." In other words, kings, tyrants, etc. can exert their dangerous power at a distance. And yes, the English word "tyrant" comes from the Greek. Compare an expanded version in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac: "Kings have long Arms, but Misfortune longer: Let none think themselves out of her Reach."

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

Μακραὶ ______ χεῖρες.

reveal/hide answer

Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

---

Κοσκίνῳ ______ ἀντλεῖς.

reveal/hide answer

Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

---

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

reveal/hide answer

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

---

Ἄλλην ______ βαλάνιζε.

reveal/hide answer

Ἄλλην δρῦν βαλάνιζε.

---

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

---

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 13

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.

Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

• κοσκίνῳ, from κόσκινον.
• ὕδωρ, from ὕδωρ.
• ἀντλεῖς, from ἀντλέω.

Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

You're drawing water with a sieve.

This is a fool's errand: you can scoop all you want, but the sieve is not going to hold the water. Compare a similar saying you've seen before: Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ φέρει, "He's carrying water in a sieve." The original meaning of the verb ἀντλέω is to bale bilgewater; the noun ἄντλος means bilgewater.

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

Αἲξ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

---

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

reveal/hide answer

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

---

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ ______.

reveal/hide answer

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

---

Κοσκίνῳ ______ ἀντλεῖς.

reveal/hide answer

Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

---

Ἄλλην ______ βαλάνιζε.

reveal/hide answer

Ἄλλην δρῦν βαλάνιζε.

---

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 12

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.

---