Refrains from Puerto Rico
I remember when i first moved to Puerto Rico i was always surrounded by older people. my cousins sometimes hanged out with me but it was the older folks that i spent most of my time with. i was forced to learn spanish. Something that i will never forget though are the little sayings that the older people said when ever something happend. it was weird for me at first since my knowledge of spanish at the time was very limited but as i got better at speaking a lot of the things that they said eventually made sense. i always said that when i became a spanish teacher that i would always finish my classes with a dicho (saying) or a refrain. I will share some with you guys so that you can have a little more insite into the culture and way of thinking of some hispanics. you can go here to get a full list of some. (http://www.prtc.net/~miguel11/refranes.htm )
Yerba mala nunca muere. literally it means weeds never die. Metaphorically it means Bad things never go away.
Cria cuervos y te sacaran los ojos. literally it means raise crows and they will take your eye out. Metaphorically it means nourishing a bad thing will get you in the end or catch up with you. Or better yet you reap what you sow. "People use this oen when they feel betrayed by someone close."
Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo. literally it means Wise is the devil because he is old than because he is the devil. Metaphorically it means There's no substitute for experience.
En boca cerrada no entran moscas. literally it means in closed mouth flies dont enter. Metaphorically it means Silence is the best security. or Silence is golden.
Like i said go to the website about and read away. its so cool to hear the older people saying it. for soem reason it has more wisdom to it. especially if they are campesinos or what we like to call them in puerto rico and in the dominican republic Jibaros. (country folk)
2 Answers
Thanks, these are awesome!
good stuff, thanks
