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53ОБЩЕЕ ЯЗЫКОЗНАНИЕ
YAK 811.111
Mieder Wolfgang
Department of German and Russian, University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont 05405 (USA) Tel.: (802) 6561475 E-mail: Wolfgang.mieder@uvm.edu
"NO BODY IS PERFECT" SOMATIC ASPECTS OF MODERN AMERICAN PROVERBS
While somatic proverbs and proverbial expressions have been collected and studied extensively, they have dealt primarily with older and traditional materials. Very little is known about the role that various body parts play in proverbs coined during the past century. Based on "The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs" (2012), it is shown that newer American proverbs contain numerous references to such somatic words like eye, foot, hand, head, mouth, nose, and others. Quite a few are straight forward indicative sentences, but there are also numerous metaphorical proverbs commenting on modern life and its multifaceted challenges including the emphasis on the body, beauty, health, and sexuality. To a certain degree these modern proverbs reflect the mores and worldview of the American society.
Key words: American, anti-proverb, body, metaphor, modernity, mores, origin, proverb, semantics, sexuality, somatism, worldview.
Introduction
A glance into any of the major proverb collections of the world reveals immediately that there exists a plethora of somatic proverbs referring to the human body in general as well as its various parts like eye, foot, hand, head, heart, mouth, nose, and others [Mieder, 2011]. Numerous studies have dealt with such proverbs [Mieder, 2009a], among them major monographs like Miroslawa Gordy, Somaticheskaia frazeologiia sovremennykh russkogo i pol'skogo iazykov (2010), Malgorzata Gulawska-Gawkoskwa, Somatische und emotionale Konzepte in der deutschen und polnischen Phraseologie (2013), Carmen Mellado Blanco, Phraseologismos somáticos del alemán. Un studio léxico-semántico (2004), and Kaifu Zhu, Lexikographische Untersuchung somatischer Phraseologismen im Deutschen und Chinesischen (1998). These comprehensive publications and also smaller studies [Aroutunova, 1979; Carter, 2015; Cermák, 1998; Ly, 2015; Niemi, 2010; Piirainen, 2016; Skrypnik, 2011] have shown convincingly that references to the body play a major role in traditional proverbs, but they fail for the most part to consider whether new proverbs emphasize somatic matters as well.
The Main Part
The problem is, of course, that paremiologists have paid very little attention to the new proverbs of the modern age. Their serious collection has only started a few decades ago, with Valerii M. Mokienko's Novaia russkaia frazeologiia (2003) and The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs (2012), edited by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro, marking the beginnings of the serious paremiographical registration of new Russian and American (also some British) proverbs. It is indeed high time that the conservativeness of proverb collections is overcome and that modern proverbs - texts that are not older than the somewhat arbitrarily chosen year of 1900 -are collected and studied [Doyle, 1996]. This effort has by now been embraced by young scholars in a number of countries, and there is thus a bright future awaiting international paremiography and paremiology [Mieder, 2017]. In fact, for the approximately 1400 identified and annotated proverbs in The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, some interesting conclusions have been presented in Wolfgang Mieder's analysis with a modern American proverb as its title: "'Think Outside of the Box': Origin, Nature, and Meaning of Modern Anglo-American Proverbs" [Mieder, 2014, pp. 80130]. By now he has also looked in more detail at new proverbs that deal with the multifaceted aspects of "life" and "age" [Mieder, 2018 and 2019a], trying to see whether they express a certain commonly held worldview in the modern age [Dundes, 1972; Hakamies, 2002].
But clearly modern people are not only preoccupied with questions of life and the aging process. They are also certainly concerned about the body, as can be seen through the emphasis on appearance and health that might well be called a "body cult" that permeates society, to wit the exercise craze in all of its forms. It should then not be surprising that this obsession in its positive and negative aspects has found expression in modern proverbial wisdom (about 9% of the 1400 proverbs). It is interesting to note right at the outset of the following deliberations that the proverb appearing in the title is a reaction to the overemphasis on the ideal body shape. Based on the much older proverb "Nobody is perfect", the anti-proverb "No body is perfect" (1952, 23; proverbs are cited with the earliest date and page number in the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs) originated in the middle of the twentieth century. It is usually employed in connection with anxieties about an unachievable ideal body image. The idea of beauty enters into all of this, and it comes as no surprise that the traditional proverb "Beauty is only skin deep" with its argument against such fantasy has led to the even more extreme anti-proverb "Beauty is only skin (1963, 17). In other words, it is much more important to be a good (beautiful) person inside rather than worrying about outside looks. As expected, there are other new proverbs that react to beauty matters, to wit "Beauty does not buy happiness" (1989, 16) and "No beauty without pain" (1987, 17), with the latter emphasizing that the acquisition and maintenance of physical beauty require hard and perhaps painful exercise.
It should be noted that it is not rare that new proverbs arise as anti-proverbs to established texts that are put into question or played with in order to create wisdom more fitting for modern times [Litovkina and Mieder, 2006]. Here are a few examples with somatic words included in them:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Absence makes the heart go wander. (1908, 1)
Little pitchers have big ears.
Little rabbits have big ears (1935, 213)
Walls have ears.
Even corn has ears. (1905, 44)
Blood is thicker than water.
Money is thicker than water. (S1, 108-109)
Time heals all wounds.
Time wounds all heels. (1938, 259)
A closed mouth catches no flies.
A closed mouth catches no feet. (1956, 173)
The last example exists, as is often the case with proverbs in general, in a number of variants: "A closed (shut) mouth gathers (catches) no feet." Thus the proverb probably originated as an anti-proverb blending three earlier proverbial phrases: "A closed mouth catches no flies", "A rolling stone gathers no moss", and "to put one's foot in one's mouth." Related to all of this is also the earlier modern proverb "If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it" (1915, 174). Another interesting anti-proverb is "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" (1948, 70-71) that is commonly attributed to Mohandas Gandhi. It is a remarkable and reasonable argument against the Biblical injunction "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Exodus 21:24) that taken to its extreme would lead to total annihilation.
That most certainly is a very timely anti-proverb turned accepted new proverb in a world confronted with terrorism and war. And there is another "body"-proverb that is equally serious based on the relatively new structural formula "My X, my Y", as for example "My house, my rules" (1983, 126) or "My party, my rules" (2003, 191). The proverb "My body, my choice" (1989, S3, in print [S1-3 refer to the three supplements of the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs]) grew out of the feminist movement and was originally used in reference to abortion rights. Its meaning has by now been broadened to include arguments against vaccination as well as for sexual permissiveness and medical suicide. But here is an example of the treatment of this decisive proverb in the third supplement to the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs:
1989 Orlando [FL] Sentinel, 22 Jan.: "The crowd . . . carried signs with slogans like . . . 'My Body My Choice.'" 1989 Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr.: "Two Catholic high school seniors . . . hoisted a sign during Bush's appearance . . . . It read; 'My body. My choice. My right.'" 1992 Indianapolis Star, 24 Mar.: "For spring 1991, Moody offered sequined dresses with definite messages: One . . . with an all-over 'My Body My Choice." 1997 Orlando [FL] Sentinel, 9 Jan.: "[Noel] Earley said he is planning his own demise . . . . 'My body, my choice,' he says . . . ." 2002 Hanover [ON] Post, 8 Jan.: "Yes, I know the arguments against vaccinations: They can't guarantee not getting the flu; there are sometimes side effects; and, of course, the old 'my body, my choice' nugget being trotted out . . . " 2014 Herald Sun [Melbourne, Australia], 16 Nov.: "If we feminists truly believe in the adage, 'My body, my choice,' then surely Kim has a right to drop her dacks [i.e. pants] for some easy bucks . . . " The saying was originally used in reference to abortion rights, but it has sometimes been applied to sexual permissiveness, to suicide, and to the refusal of certain medical interventions.
This is a clear indication that modern proverbs as well are characterized by their "polyfunctionality, polysemanticity, and polysituativity" [Mieder, 2004, p. 9]. But speaking of pregnancy, there is this disgusting anti-feminist proverb "A woman should be kept barefoot and pregnant" (1947, 279), unfortunately showing that the creation of misogynous proverbs is not over [Schipper, 2003]. Of interest from the 1940s is also the wisdom "You can't be a little pregnant" (1942, 206) whose meaning has by now been broadened to include various impossibilities. Directly related to the woman's body and a possible pregnancy is the anti-proverb "Better late than pregnant" (1995, 137) with its hidden reference to menstruation. It is not surprising that the traditional proverb "Better late than never" was transformed into this new proverb in an age of sexual freedom.
With sexuality playing such a dominant role in American culture, the proverb "If you've got it, flaunt it" (1968, 96) was bound to appear. Most frequently it refers to the open display of one's own sexuality. The "perfect" body and fashionable as well as noticeable clothes are all part of this exhibitionism. Men and women are exercising to get their bodies in shape, including the build-up of muscles, thus the proverb "Hustle for the muscle" (2013, S3 in print). It can be found on T-shirts and has been used as a ready-made slogan for exercise establishments. This emphasis on physical exercise to the point of exhaustion has found its rationalizing proverb as well: "Pain is just weakness leaving the body" (1991, 187). And there is also the short proverb "Sun's out, guns out" (2007, S2, 39) with its parallel structure. One would have to be in the folk group that enjoys exhibiting their muscles on a sunny day to understand it. The "guns"-term refers to upper-arm (or upper-torso) musculature, and the proverb is reminiscent of the idea of flaunting one's body.
Little wonder that the American society with its problem of obesity also brought forth a number of proverbs dealing with weight gain to the point of being fat. Here are three cautionary proverbs explaining in basic language the widespread problem:
It is not what you like (want) that makes you fat, it is what you eat. (1917, 147) Anything good (in life) is either illegal, immoral, or fattening. (1933, 106-107) A moment (minute) on the lips, a lifetime (forever) on the hips. (1940, 168)
Folk wisdom does, however, not stop there but also presents advice on how to retain or attain the ideal thin figure:
You can't be too rich or too thin. (1974, S1, 113) Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. (1989, S1, 111)
It should, however, be recognized that the "fat lady" mentioned in the following three related proverbs is not necessarily a stereotype against corpulent women. It is an allusion to large female opera singers who might conclude a lengthy opera. The proverb "The opera isn't over till the fat lady sings" (1976, 185) was coined by Ralph Carpenter, sports information director of Texas Tech University, on March 10, 1976 during his commentaries on a basketball game. During the same year the proverb "Church is not out till the fat lady sings (1976, 39-40) appeared. It may have started as a variant of the more generic modern proverb "Church is not out till they sing" (1966, 40) of ten years earlier. But then it might also be a conflation (based on wrong memory or intentional wit) of that proverb with "The opera isn't over till the fat lady sings." Finally, there is also the even more recent proverb from the sports world: "The game is not over till the fat lady sings" (1984, 91).
The key issue is that all three proverbs have their independent existence and that they do not refer to any particular woman and certainly do not mean to offend anybody with their metaphor.
There are also two related relatively new proverbs that emphasize the dominance of looking good in American culture, namely "It's better to look good than to feel good" (1978, 150) and "It is better to look good than to be good" (1986, 150). A third proverb with its variants of "Feel good, play good" and "Look good, feel good, play good" (1987, S1, 95-96) states convincingly that an attractive or proper appearance can well translate into success. And as expected, there are several proverbs that stress quite directly how important the proper attire might be for getting ahead in the professional world in particular: Dress for success. (1933, S2, 39) Dress to impress. (1952, S2, 21) Dress for the job you want. (1976, S1, 104-105)
Of course, some proverbs counter this wisdom about appearances. As is well known, proverbs are not universally true, and they can be as contradictory as life itself [Mieder, 2004, p. 134]. The proverb "A little powder and a little paint makes a woman look like what she isn't" (1908, 205) seems to address the matter of an unnatural insistence on outside appearance. A bit more direct is the proverb "You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig" (1985, 148) with its animal farm imagery. A precursor to this proverb might well be "You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear" from the 16th century. Similar proverbs are "A hog in armor [a person of strange appearance] is still a hog" (18th century) and "A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog" (19th century). From the 20th century there are also such variants as "A pig in a palace is still a pig," "A pig with feathers behind its ears is still a pig," "The pig may have a tuxedo on, but it is still a pig," "A pig painted gold is still a pig," and "A pig in a parlor is still a pig" [Mieder, Kingsbury, Harder, 1992]. Since the word "lipstick" dates only from about 1880, its appearance in proverbial language had to wait to more modern times, perhaps even until 1985 as its first written reference found thus far. But be that as it may, former President Barack Obama got himself into trouble for using it quite spontaneously at a campaign event on September 9, 2008, to argue against the economic plan of his Republican opponent John McCain:
John McCain says he's about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is, "Watch out George Bush - except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rowe-style-politics - we're really going to shake things up in Washington. "That's no change. That's just calling something that's the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough of the same old thing. [Mieder, 2009b, pp. 83-84] .
While it was clear that Obama was speaking about McCain, people claimed that he was referencing Sarah Palin, who was McCain's running mate for the presidency. The result was that Obama had to defend himself against having made a slanderous and sexist statement regarding Palin who by chance had used the word "lipstick" at an earlier occasion. All of this shows that proverbs are never simple or sacrosanct and that they can be manipulated to serve various purposes.
This event caused President Obama a true proverbial pain in the back as he was running a superb campaign to become the first African-American President of the United States. He brought a fresh,
innovative, and humane attitude to his candidacy and had to endure at times vicious attacks that included racial slurs. The modern proverb "Pioneers get (take) arrows in their backs" (1972, 198) comes to mind here, and luckily the unfair attacks against him remained verbal. In other words, the proverb "There must be pioneers, and some of them get killed" (1928, 198) as was the case with some astronauts, did not become a terrible reality in his case. Instead Barack Obama had the welcome and appreciated opportunity to serve as a respected president for eight years. His opponents might well have thought of the proverb "If you must strike (hit) a man from behind, slap him on the back" (1955, 157) that appears to be a metaphorical rendering of the Bible proverb "Love your enemies" [Matthew 5:44] that was employed by Martin Luther King innumerable times in his valiant struggle for civil and human rights [Mieder, 2010, pp. 281-295]. One thing is for certain, the proverb "Strong back, weak mind" (1929, 11-12), often albeit unfairly applied to athletes or body builders, could not possibly apply to the intellectually inclined Barack Obama who, to his credit, was quite an accomplished basketball player.
There is another equally insulting proverb that unfortunately has maintained its currency since the early twentieth century: "No brain, no pain" (1917, 26-27). The implication is that an unintelligent person is not capable of sensing pain or is callous to serious injury. It is based on the popular structure "No X, no Y", as can be seen from the somatic proverb "No body (corpse), no crime" (1947, 23-24) that appears with considerable frequency in detective novels. Regarding corpses, the following proverb is somewhat indicative of an American "carpe diem"-attitude towards life that must be experienced to the fullest at a fast speed: "Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse" (1930, 44). It seems quite an absurd piece of wisdom, but in typical American spirit it leaves the decision to follow its advice up to the individual. Another "brain"-proverb also seems a bit extreme at first: "If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out" (1960, 26). But it obviously wants to argue that one should not go to extremes in accommodating questionable behavior or attitudes. Of course, there is excellent advice in the proverb "Use your brain before you open your mouth" (1960, 26).
Speaking of the mind or brain, it comes perhaps as somewhat of a surprise to find quite a few modern proverbs addressing that part of the body. One might have thought that the common folk as originators of proverbs would not occupy itself with this matter. But clearly there are people who have generalized thoughts about the human mind into proverbial wisdom that does, alas, usually lack any metaphorical elements. These proverbs are simply too intellectually inclined, something that is true for a little more than 50 % of the about 1400 proverbs included in the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. It is not known how this relates to older proverbs, but they might well be at least somewhat more metaphorical in nature. Part of the reason might be that newer proverbs often have their start as slogans or aphorisms that are more cerebral as well as shorter and to the point. In any case, here are some straight-forward examples that lack the metaphorical charm of more folksy proverbs:
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. (1972, 167) Simple minds, simple pleasures. (1957, S1, 108)
Minds, like parachutes, function only when they are open. (S2, 1927, 31-32) A neat desk is a sign of a sick mind. (1973, 53) A messy desk is a sign of a messy mind. (1974, 53)
Regarding the last proverb, there is also the independent variant "A messy (cluttered) desk is a sign of intelligence (brilliance, genius, creativity, productivity, a busy person, etc.)" (1973, 53) that smacks of a professorial excuse for an utterly disorganized office.
The last of these "brain/mind"-proverbs was clearly coined by an intellectual since it employs the term "erogenous zone" (1969, 285) that is somewhat alien to proverbial language. Here is what the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs says about it:
The most important (The most potent, The most) erogenous zone is the brain (mind). 1969 New York Times 7 Dec.: "Sometimes [David] Frost simply manages to bring out somebody in a small way, as when he coaxed out of a shy Raquel Welch ... the notion that 'the mind is the most erogenous zone.'" 1974 Newsweek 83, no. 11 (18 Mar.) 43: "There cannot be winners in the battle of erectile tissues. Surely the most erogenous zone in both men and women lies not between the legs but behind the eyes." 1977 Lawrence [KS] Daily Journal 24 Oct. ("Ann Landers" advice column): "The most erogenous zone in both male and female is located between the eyebrows and the hairline." 1980 Mike Grace and Joyce Grace, A Joyful Meeting: Sexuality in Marriage (St. Paul MN: National Marriage Encounter) 26: "If there is competition from other things - distractions, other feelings - foreplay may have no erotic effect. This is why we emphasize that the most important erogenous zone is the brain."
As can be seen, the dictionary contains plenty of contextualized references, listing the earliest found and a few later ones that exemplify the particular proverb's use and meaning. Such statements are of particular importance for those proverbs that originated in the scholarly realm, as for example the scientific proverb "Genes are not (Genetics is not, Heredity is not) destiny" (1952, S2, 23) that indicate the existence of modern proverbs based on new knowledge. In comparison, such body related proverbs like "A clean cut heals soonest" (1913, 49) and "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases? (1918, 45) from the early twentieth century seem rather mundane. And yet, their simple health messages are of relevance regarding infections and viruses. Of interest is also this quite different proverb "When the United States (U.S., America, Wall Street, etc.) sneezes, the world catches a cold (pneumonia)" (1977, S3, in print). Even though it is a relatively new proverb expressing the unfortunate claim of exceptionalism that has taken a hold in the country, it is noteworthy that the references of it cited in the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs start with such introductory formulas as "it was once said," "as the old adage goes," and "the old saying" that are used to add traditional authority to it. Two matters are revealed here, namely that people think that proverbs have to be old and that they for the most part have no idea about the historical origin and dissemination of proverbs.
People with just a fleeting awareness of proverbs might also conclude from most proverb collections that there appear to be only very few sexual, obscene or scatological proverbs relating to the body and its functions. Although they have always existed, with a dominance in the late Middle Ages and the 16th century, they have to a large degree been suppressed by puritanical paremiographers of later times. However, today's open discussion of sexuality as well as the prevalent occurrence of obscene and scatological words and phrases has led to a considerable number of modern proverbs of which at least a few might be mentioned here [Mieder, 2020]. In some instances, it is interesting to note that an old innocuous expression has been turned into a more sexually motivated proverb. Thus the old phrase "to take the bull by the horns" whose metaphor implies a certain measure of control over a strong challenge, has now become the proverb "Take
(Grab) the bull by the balls" (1954, 28-29) that most likely started as an anti-proverb to the "horn"-phrase. By now the proverb has become so popular that people employ it without at first thinking of the fact that the "balls" are the bull's testicles. A decade later, during the war in Vietnam, an expanded variant of the proverb took a hold: "Grab them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow" (1967, 12). It has been attributed to former President Lyndon Johnson who enjoyed using expletives and earthy expressions. The proverb satirizes the Kennedy administrations hope of winning "the hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. As it can be cited as a comment for other situations that need to be controlled by some force, the proverb has gained currency without being cited in "polite" society perhaps.
Once testicles made it into modern proverbial language, it is understandable that the penis found its way into modern proverbs as well. In the following two proverbs satirizing boisterous or showoff males, it is important to know that dick, prick, and pecker are slang words for penis: "Big car, small dick (prick)" (1991, 33) and "Big mouth, small pecker (dick, prick)" (1993, 173). Since penis size has been more openly discussed in medical journals and the media since the early twentieth century, a number of proverbs came into being that somewhat sub rosa state that penis size has nothing to do with sexual satisfaction:
Size doesn't matter (it's what you do with it, it's how you use it). (1903, 233)
It's not what you've got, it's what you do with it (how you use it). (1934, 96-97)
It's not the size of the boat but the motion of the ocean (that matters). (1968, 232)
From numerous contextualized references cited in the dictionary, it is clear that "it" refers to the penis, and even the third metaphorical text relates to the penis and male sexual proficiency in satisfying a woman. As expected, the counter-proverb "Size does matter" (1964. 232-233) to "Size doesn't matter" has by now become current. Of course, it can also be employed to speak about something far removed from the penis, but there is a good chance that its use will evoke snickers or frowns on account of its perceived sexual allusiveness whether intended or not. Not surprisingly, female sexuality is also to be found in modern proverbs, albeit coined by aggressive males. In the proverb "Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed (butcher, stick)" (1971, 22-23) the verb "bleed" refers to menstruation, while the variant terms allude to dealings with livestock. There is no wordplay here but rather an obvious disrespect for women who are considered like breeding machines. A second metaphorical proverb "If there is grass on the field, (you can) play ball" (1998, 111) is also highly questionable in that it encourages premature sex just because pubic hair (grass) is starting to appear. "Ball' once again refers to the testicles and the phrase "to ball someone" signifies sexual intercourse. Unfortunately the disgusting male proverb coiners also came up with the proverbs "Close your eyes and think of England (the Empire, the queen, Old Glory)" (1943, 70) and the even more insensitive "You don't fuck the face" (1984, 72) that reduce love making to a revolting act.
The word "ass" in the meaning of behind or rump and not donkey has become quite acceptable in American parlance. Thus the proverb "The sun doesn't shine on (up) the same dog's ass every day" (1976, 246) appears slightly varied as "The sun don't shine on a sleepin' dog's ass" without any offense in Bruce Springsteen's proverb song "My Best Was Never Good Enough" (1995) to express that one cannot be lucky every day. And the surprisingly long proverb "When you're up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember you're there to drain the swamp" (1971, 8-9; Dundes
and Pagter, 1987) has gained more popularity in recent years due to the fact that President Trump likes to speak of cleaning out the swamp of Washington politics. Of course, he has not done so but rather has added to it by way of his uncontrolled behavior and aggressive tweets. Referring to people who exhibit unwelcome or ill-advised comments as "assholes" has become widespread as well, but not necessarily in all environments. Be that as it may, the befitting if somewhat direct proverb "Opinions are like assholes (armpits) - everybody's got one (and they all stink)" (1972, 185) has become quite popular in its truncated version "Opinions are like assholes." Based on the proverb, the variant "Excuses are like assholes (armpits); everybody has them (and most of them stink" (1974, 69-70) came into existence two years later and it too is heard quite frequently in its shortened version. There is no doubt that modern proverbs, with some exceptions, are generally on the short side reflecting perhaps the fast-paced life of modernity.
If "asshole" has become somewhat acceptable in American social discourse, it can also be said that the word "shit" has lost much of its taboo character. Several proverbs in the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs bear witness of this fact, with the proverb "Shit or get off the pot" (1935, 204) being the most popular. While it also exists in the rare variant "Piss or get off the pot", it has become quite acceptable and one can hear it used in oral discussion, notably at university committee meetings, when someone in utter frustration tries to impress upon people that some decision or action must be undertaken. Three equally short proverbs about this bodily function are so obvious in their meaning that they need no elaboration: "Don't shit where you eat" (1953, 227), "Don't shit on your own doorstep" (1967, 60), and "Everybody shits (poops)" (1968, 227). Their literal meaning is clear enough, but there is at least some figurativeness to these somewhat crass pieces of wisdom. The first two obviously imply that one should not fowl one's own nest that brings to mind the much older and "cleaner" proverb "It's an ill bird that fowls its own nest " (Mieder, Kingsbury, Harder, 1992, p. 52) from the thirteenth century. The two-word proverb "Everybody shits" with its topic and comment so characteristic of proverbs implies that all living creatures have this bodily need of excretion, i.e., they are basically all the same despite cultural and social differences. It functions as an equalizing bit of wisdom helping people to cope in a complex modern world.
But enough of these scatological matters by way of this metaphorical "body"-proverb that refers so fittingly to the ups and downs of the professional world with its careerism: "The toes you step on today may be attached (connected) to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow" (1999, 261). Sticking with "toes" for a moment, there is the somewhat rarely heard proverb "Never take more on your heels than you can kick off with your toes" (1925, 120). It is a fine example for the fact that some modern proverbs just as older ones are simply hard to understand without a context. In fact, proverbs in proverb collections that merely list them are often void of clear meaning. In this particular case, the proverb wants to give the reasonable advice that one should not claim or profess more than one can reasonably deliver. The generic proverb "Beware of a smiling man" (1952, 156) and the similar somatic proverb "Beware of a smiling face" (1955, 72) of three years later in origin present a bit of a problem as well. One might well be reminded of the classical proverb "Caveat emptor" that has been current in the English as "Let the buyer beware" or just "Buyer beware" since the sixteenth century [Mieder, Kingsbury, Harder, 1992, p. 78], but two contextualized references in the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs provide a semantic clue to be sure: "Beware of a smiling face: A frown could easily take its place" and "Beware of a smiling face, and what's hiding behind it." In other words, don't place too much trust into appearances that can quickly change without warning.
The proverb "Don't let your mouth write (Don't write) a check that your ass (behind) can't cash" (1966, 174) also presents a bit of a semantic challenge at first glance. This is where the dictionary with its contextual references provides a great service:
Don't let your mouth write (Don't write) a check that your ass (behind) can't cash. 1966 Charles Portis, Norwood (New York: Simon & Schuster) 184: "Watch it now. You're taking liberties. Don't make things worse than they are. Don't let your mouth write a check that your ass can't cash, son." 1980 Edith A. Folb, Runnin' Down Some Lines: The Language and Culture of Black Teenagers (Cambridge MA: Harvard UP, 1980), 235: "Don't let your mouth overload your ass; don't let your mouth write a check your ass can't cash" (with the gloss "Don't talk too much, in such a belligerent manner, or there's going to be a fight").
Proverbs following the imperative "Don't ..." pattern have long been popular, often making a proverb out of a proverbial expression that usually predates it. This is the case in the following two examples that first cite the phrase and then the proverb:
to stick one's neck out.
Don't stick your neck out. (1937, 177)
to shoot oneself in the foot.
Don't shoot yourself in the foot. (1980, 84)
There is no difficulty in comprehending the proverb "Don't ask a barber if you need a haircut" (1972, 13). As an astute businessman he will want to cut the hair, with the proverb trying to argue against asking questions whose answers are obvious. Perhaps the proverb has pretty much fallen out of use because it is too mundane for a society where barbers have become hair stylists and where barber shops have been turned into hair salons. But things are not always so straight forward, as can be seen from two examples that almost make no sense without contexts and explanation. The "chin"-text never gained great currency and was more or less restricted to the world of sports:
Don't lead with your chin. 1931 Washington Post 26 May: "I believe in the silver lining, the rainbow after the storm, . . . the infallibility of the slogan 'Never lead with your chin.' . . . I believe the worst is over and that it never was as bad as it was advertised." The proverb makes figurative and general a sentence of conventional advice from boxing.
Of special interest is doubtlessly this next proverb about what not to do to an innocent baby with its message of not taking suggestions literally:
Don't put beans (peas) in the baby's ears (up the baby's nose). 1905 Martin G. Brumbaugh, The Making of a Teacher (Philadelphia: Sunday School Times) 295-96: "A very well-disposed mother, but not wise, on leaving her home one day, said to the older children, 'Now be sure to put no beans in the baby's ears.' The children had never thought of such a thing, but when she returned the baby's ears were well filled with beans!" The proverb warns about the power of suggestion.
The proverb "Loose lips sink ships" (1942, 148) makes a lot of sense if one knows that it originated during World War II when that proverbial slogan was literally used to realize that uncontrolled talk might give away secrets to the enemy. Today the proverb can be used in a general
way to discourage people from giving away a secret or sensitive information. One also wonders about the proverb "A ring on the finger is worth two on the phone" (1911, 218) that plays off the double meaning of the "ring" as in engagement or wedding ring on the finger and the proverbial phrase "to give someone a ring" on the telephone. In the modern age of cell phones and other electronic ways of communicating with a phone it is hard to imagine that the younger generations would use it any longer. It serves as another example for the fact that proverbs can wear out their usefulness as things change. This particular proverb has been around for a century and is probably on its last leg, as the proverbial expression goes.
Even though America is in love with the automobile, its modern proverbs do not pay particular attention to the car. But there is the delightful proverb "You can't judge a car by its paint (job)" (1908, 33) from the early twentieth century that is modelled on the older proverb "You can't judge a book by its cover." Equally telling is the proverbial claim that "Nobody washes a rental car" (1985, 33). Be that as it may, modern proverbs prefer to zero in on the body and its feet when it comes to mobility that includes the need for rest as well [Senga, 1987]. The proverbs "It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees" (1924, 84) and "Never miss a chance to sit down and rest your feet" (1951, 36) contain considerable wisdom for everyday life. Yet a proverb like "Move your feet, lose your seat" (1987, 84) is perhaps not immediately clear. It originated in the unfortunate world of the homeless who lose their resting place if they move for whatever reason. By now it also has the more general meaning of losing one's occupied or claimed space anywhere if moving away temporarily. Of much interest is also the origin and meaning of the very recent proverb "Slow feet don't eat" (2014, S3, in print). As the following references show, it began as a sports metaphor that can now also be applied to the necessity of action in general:
2014 Telegram & Gazette [WorcesterMA], 20 Sep.: "Coach . . . told me to trust my speed . . . . It's footwork. Slow feet, don't eat." 2015 Telegram & Gazette [Worcester MA], 25 Sep.: "You must have quick feet . . . . As they say, 'Slow feet don't eat.'" 2016 Courier-News [Bridgewater NJ], 11 Jul.: "[Football player Andrew] Roberts said he loves two quotes . . . . The other is, 'Slow feet, don't eat,' as in work hard or you won't succeed." 2017 Solae Dehvine, Stupid Love 2: Vengeance Is Mine (Hazelwood MO: Dehvine): "Closed mouths don't get fed and slow feet don't eat son." 2017 Hawaii Warrior World [Honolulu], 11 Apr.: "One of the catchiest phrases in this conditioning cycle is: Slow feet, don't eat." 2018 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8 Nov.: "Slow feet don't eat in South Florida. And they especially don't return punts." 2018 (name of a company in Essex MD): "Slow Feet Dont [sic] Eat Racing, Inc." 2019 WM[WorcesterMA], 7 Aug (quoting football player Dexter McCluster): "You have to have great feet. Slow feet don't eat. If your feet can't keep up with your mind, you're not going to be a great running back." The proverb appears frequently as a motto on the front of T-shirts.
Indeed, moving forward belongs to the American worldview (Dundes 1969), and it is surprising that the proverb "What you haven't in your head, you have in your feet" (1933, 119) was only recorded in the early 1930s in America. It is actually a proverb known in a number of European languages but entered into English only later as a loan translation. It is thus not a homegrown American proverb and serves as an example for those proverbs that became current in the United States by way of immigrants. Of course, today such modern American proverbs as for example "The grass is always greener o the other side of the fence" (1913, 110-111), "One picture is worth a
thousand words" (1911, 196), and "It takes two to tango" (1952, 266) have found international distribution in English or as loan translations [Mieder, 2019b] by way of the mass media in particular.
And the move goes on, as can be seen from the advice about advancing without being too aggressive about it all: "Keep your head down and your feet moving" (1990, 118). Care must be taken not to be too bullish for "A hard head makes a soft (sore) behind (back, butt, ass, tail)" (1905, 118). But no matter what, people should use their head for good purposes and not rest: "Use your head for something besides a hat rack" (1910, 118). America being a country where religion continues to play a major role has also brought forth the proverb "When you pray, move your feet" (1936, 84-85) that tells practitioners that positive action must accompany praying. And if the prayer seems to no avail, there exists another proverb that warns against blaming God Almighty: "Your arms are too short (not long enough) to box (fight) with God" (1912, 7). The proverb is especially current among African Americans and is a wonderful somatic message to keep parishioners humble. It would most certainly do them no good to confront God with a proverbial chip on their shoulder since that would be futile behavior and showing no brain as it were. All of this is convincingly expressed in the somatic proverb "A chip on the shoulder is a good indication of wood higher up" (1926, 39). The second part of the proverb is a delightful metaphor for a head with a lack of brain power and as such can be employed in various situations.
In a more concise and direct way the proverb "Big mouth, small brain (mind)" (1958, 173) says something quite similar. And there is even a proverb that warns against rash speaking: "It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and let the world know it" (1907, 83). As has been done with other proverbs as well, this text has been credited to President Abraham Lincoln but no corroborative evidence exists. And yet, silence is not always the best way to deal with life's challenges, as stated by the proverb "A closed mouth does not get fed" (1989, 173) with the meaning that one must speak up in order to be effective or acknowledged. All of this amounts to yet another example for the fact that proverbs can give opposite advice and that the proverb that fits a particular situation will be cited. Finally, it makes a lot of sense that the pecuniary as well as somatic proverb "Put your money where your mouth is" (1913, 170) has been around for a hundred years. In its literal sense it encourages vocal people to give actual money to the political or social cause that they happen to believe in. By now, it can also be employed more generally to get people to make a commitment after having expressed a serious interest in a matter. In this sense it is remindful of the seventeenth-century proverb "Actions speak louder than words" [Mieder, Kingsburg, Harder, 1992, p. 7].
This proverb finds its highly positive modern equivalent in meaning as "Busy hands are happy hands" (1956, 115). The "hand" appears in several new proverbs, including the humane advice "Give a hand up, not a handout" (1938, 115) that started as a slogan to get people involved in effective welfare programs. Doing so by giving money and time, symbolically expressed by flowers, proves the following benevolent proverb true: "Flowers leave fragrance in the hand that bestows them" (1944, 82). The proverb "Two (Both) hands for beginners" (1910, 116), perhaps a bit perplexing on first encounter, is simply solid advice that using both hands is best when first learning to ride a bicycle, drive a car, play basketball, etc. That all makes sense, but one might well wonder what brought about the following two proverbs that probably started as anti-proverbs of the older "You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family" [Mieder, Kingsbury,
Harder, 1992, p. 240]: "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose" (1975, 88) and "You can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family (relatives)" (1997, 179). The motivation for these somewhat crass proverbs was most likely a bit of somatic folk humor to add some expressiveness to it all. In this regard it needs to be pointed out that the proverb "Keep your nose clean" (1903, 179) has nothing to do with picking or blowing one's nose but is merely a somatic metaphor to admonish people to keep things in proper perspective. And there is also that short proverb "Your (The) nose knows" (1905, 179) that does not credit that organ any cerebral anilities but is just a metaphor for assuring people that they can figure things out in due time.
The main thing is that people adhere to the wisdom of the American proverb "Keep your eyes on the prize" that has been traced back to the seventeenth century [Doyle, 2017]. It was popularized in a "freedom song" during protest marches, sit-ins, freedom rides, and the many demonstrations during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s with its refrain: Hold on (hold on), hold on (hold on) Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on Hold on (hold on), hold on (hold on) Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on
Congressman John Lewis, one of the major surviving African-American civil rights leaders, made this sociopolitical slogan his leitmotif during the past five decades, and he remains a most powerful voice in combatting racism and in fostering humaneness and civility in the United States [Mieder, 2019, pp. 145-181]. The somewhat modern proverb "Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole" (1908, 71) is a more metaphorical albeit banal restatement, but it too gives the advice to remain focused on the essential matter at hand. The message is to be watchful and involved, as two short proverbs advise as well: "Every shut eye is not asleep" (1900, 70) and "The eyes do not lie" (1986, S3, in print). Regarding the modern computer world, there is now even the proverb "Given enough eyeballs (eyes), all bugs are shallow (Many eyes make all bugs shallow" (1997, S3, in print) where the bugs are certainly not insects! It is a proverb current among technology experts, but it has a chance to become more prevalent in a general sense of saying that "Four eyes see more than two" [Mieder, Kingsbury, Harder, 1992, p. 190] as an older sixteenth-century proverb has it. For now, the Dictionary of Modern Proverbs provides a number of references as a welcome introduction for the layperson:
1997 John Udall, "Web Project: The Value of Free Software," Byte 22, no. 12 (Dec.) 112: "What about Eric Raymond's assertion that all bugs are shallow given enough eyeballs? [Rob] Kolstad counters that it's not the number of eyeballs that matters; it's the quality of the brains behind them." 1998 Birmingham [UK] Post, 1 Aug.: "'Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow' is a simple tenet of Open Source software." 1999 Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald, 6 Apr.: "It is reassuring to know that just as many eyes ensure all bugs are shallow, many voices ensure the marketplace of ideas is a beautiful one." 2000 Nicholas Thompson, "How Linux and Open-Source Development Could Change the Way We Get Things Done," Washington Monthly 32, no. 3 (Mar.) 10: "There is a saying known as 'Linus' law' that 'given enough eyes, all bugs are shallow.' In other words, given enough people working on them, all problems are solvable." 2005 Salt Lake City Tribune, 20 Nov.: "Today, the open source
movement has realized the effectiveness of leaderless decision making. They have a saying that to many eyes all bugs are shallow . . . ." 2009 Weekly Standard [Washington DC], 20 Jul.: "When you do computer programming there's an old maxim that to 10,000 eyes all bugs are shallow." 2011 Guardian [London], 2 Mar.: "In the open-source world we have a saying: 'Many eyeballs make all bugs shallow.'" The origin of the saying is attributable to a paper presented orally (and subsequently published in several versions) by Eric Steven Raymond, "The Cathedral and the Bazaar," at the Linux Kongress, 22 May 1997, in Wurzburg, Germany: "Given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone. Or, less formally, 'Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.' I dub this: 'Linus's Law.'" (Linus Torvalde was a Finnish graduate student who, about 1991, invented the Linux computer operating system.)
Conclusion
After all of this, how about the "heart" [Greciano, 1998] in modern American proverbs for some final remarks? Recognizing that such large cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and a few more are actually more the exception and that the United States is covered with small towns and even villages, it makes a lot of sense to have come up with the proverb "Small town, big heart" (1982, S1, 118) to describe the generally pleasant and comfortable life there. And despite the hustle and bustle of modern American lives there is the proverb "The heart has a mind of its own" (1960, 119) acknowledging the importance of emotions and heartfelt love. Yet it is the proverb "You can't measure heart" (1967, 119) that can serve as a final piece of folk wisdom. It can relate to basically anything that people might put their heart into with commitment and conviction. Such professional or philanthropic efforts can well be immeasurable, but their positive results add up to a fair and compassionate society where the golden rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12) is the moral guidepost. Generally speaking, then, the somatic aspects of modern American proverbs help to express an American worldview of fairness, compassion, and also love in its various manifestations. A culture and society that might overcome its ridiculous emphasis on exceptionalism, that is a responsible partner in international concerns regarding the environment and immigration, and that makes this world a better and safer place for all humankind. One thing is for certain, traditional and new American proverbs [Mieder, 1989 and 2015] contain wisdom that can offer advice and guidance towards these laudable goals. It would most certainly be a big mistake to think or claim that proverbs have outlived their usefulness in the modern age. While some proverbs have survived for centuries, others have come and gone, but there will always be new ones as well [Mieder, 1993]. But there is no doubt that the meta-proverb "Proverbs are never out of season" with its claim that proverbs will always be part of human communication will always hold true.
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Мидер В.
Доктор филологических наук, профессор, Департамент немецкого и русского языков, Вермонтский университет, США
"NO BODY IS PERFECT": СОМА ТИЧЕСКИЕ ПОСЛОВИЦЫ В СОВРЕМЕННОМ АМЕРИКАНСКОМ АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
В период, когда активно собирались и изучались соматические пословицы, исследовался преимущественно довольно старый языковой материал. О той роли, которую различные части тела играют в пословицах, придуманных в прошлом веке, известно очень мало. Основываясь на «Словаре современных пословиц» (2012), мы демонстрируем, что современные американские пословицы содержат многочисленные ссылки на такие слова, как глаз, нога, рука, голова, рот, нос и другие. Многие из них являются предложениями с прямым значением, но есть также многочисленные метафорические пословицы, комментирующие современную жизнь и ее многогранные проблемы, включающие озабоченность телом, красотой, здоровьем и сексуальностью. В определенной степени эти современные пословицы отражают нравы и мировоззрение американского общества.
Ключевые слова: американский английский, антипословица, тело, метафора, современность, нравы, происхождение, пословица, семантика, сексуальность, соматизм, мировоззрение.
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