Rodgers Dictionary of Proverbs
If the fight is tomorrow, why then clench
your fist today?
If the fire does not burn you the smoke will
blacken you.
If the first goat goes lame, those that follow
will not reach the pasture.
If the fish comes out of the river to tell you
that the crocodile has one eye, you
should believe it.
If the fool has a hunchback no one remarks
about it; if a wise man has a boil
everybody talks about it.
If the fountainhead is clear, the stream will
be clear.
If the full moon loves you, why worry about
the stars?
If the glacier perceives a headless army is
clumsy, it feels a sort of emphatic guilt, I
dare say.
If the goat had a longer tail he could wipe
the stars clean.
If the goat rejects the grass, its belly is full.
If the goat says it will become a sheep, there
will always be black spots on its body.
If the goat would not jump around, she
wouldn't break her leg.
If the hair was precious, wouldn't grow on
the ass.
If the hare is your enemy, admit that he can
run fast.
If the head aches all the members of the
body suffer.
If the heart is empty, the rest will soon
abandon you too.
If the heart is right, the head cannot be very
far wrong.
If the heart is sad, tears will flow.
If the heart of the dog was that of its master.
(I would not do it if I was you)
If the hen did not cackle no one would know
what she had been about.
If the hen had not cackled, we should not
know she had laid an egg.
If the hill is on fire the grasshoppers are
roasted.
If the hope is lost, it's better to hurry.
If the horse is already dead more hay will
311
not help it.
If the hours are long enough and the pay is
short enough, someone will say it's
women's work.
If the hunter comes back with mushrooms,
don't ask him how his hunt was.
If the hyena eats the sick man, he will eat the
whole one.
If the icy snow carries you at midsummer,
then we can expect a late spring.
If the imam farts, the community will shit.
If the inner mind is not deluded, the outer
actions will not be wrong.
If the judge is against you, you should
withdraw the complaint.
If the kernels are not finished, the jaw will
not rest.
If the king says that it is night in the middle
of the day, look up at the stars.
If the knitter is weary, the baby will have no
new bonnet.
If the lady of the house breaks something it
is an unfortunate accident; if the servant
does, then it is a terrible disaster.
If the landlady is fair, the wine is fair.
If the lantern is needed at home, donating it
to the mosque is haram (forbidden).
If the left hand battles the right, who wins?
If the lion's skill will not do, we must sew on
that of the fox.
If the lion's skin cannot, the fox's shall.
If the lion's skin falls short, piece it out with
that of the fox.
If the lips are gone, the teeth will grow cold.
If the lizard were good to eat, it would not
be so common.
If the load is too heavy for someone to carry,
one would be better off to give the load
to the ground to carry.
If the Lor doesn't go to bazaar, everything
will rot.
If the main timbers in the house are not
straight, the smaller timber will be
unsafe; and if the smaller timbers are not
straight, the house will fall.