Dodúirt iae Reosdúid Taaeves: view article

Menu 1. Dodúirt - Proverbs 2. Reosdúid - Idioms For your convenience, all applicable verbs (or other words) in the article are linked to the dictionary entry for the sake of inflection.

[edit] [top]Dodúirt - Proverbs

Edievian	English	Notes
Áis halcanat; uáist tataes.	Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment Proverbs 12:19	Literally "A truth sings; a lie yells", this proverbs plays into cultural belief that music is the background to life. Concepts such as beauty, truth, and nature are set to melody - conversely; ugliness, lies, and destruction are all without melody. The truth may not be the loudest, but it sings in the background forever; and while a lie may be a loud, it is not the part of the inherent music of the world.
Siím ab cedancaol crunamor cecaol.	A broken gear is still a wheel.	Even something that is broken isn't useless; a new purpose can be found regardless of original use.
Namimban 'lúid tií háit.	Ships don't pass twice.	Don't wave away an opportunity, as it may not come again.
Nomops pov claemsió, sir gamivaen	A knife before dinner, chopsticks during it	In Edievian culture, food is always cut into one- or two-bite pieces before serving. Knives are seen as kitchen utensils that are used strictly for preparing food, not eating it. The proverb itself entails using the right tool for the job at hand - you don't use a knife to eat, you use chopsticks. In some southern Edievian homes, the word sir ("chopsticks") is swapped for meransir, which are similar to a tong-chopstick hybrid; conjoined at the top like tongs but narrow at the ends like chopsticks.
Peman nanúis setráind ev relt nasiúntor	No fish come from a net not cast.	You can't succeed if you don't try.
(Tarae) tií lob so nao lor	(To hit) two birds with one stone	Literally "(to strike) two sparrows with one arrow", it is often shortened to just "tií lob so nao lor" (and sometimes shortened further to so nao lor ["with one arrow"]). Like English, it entails convenience but also includes efficiency - doing something so nao lor is often commendable.
Ban havol lo cedam.	Something large or imposing is not necessarily dangerous.	Literally "whales are without teeth", this is a simple statement of not to take things for face value, especially if they seem frightening.
Langan nao iae nao lac ar tií.	Little actions add up; small steps can create something much bigger.	Literally "one and one create more than two." Small actions can make large change.
Rúig éivd spaegaol ales duab ol.	A pot calling the kettle black.	Literally "a mirror also shines when facing the light," essentially, one is reflecting exactly what they are accusing.

[edit] [top]Reosdúid - Idioms

Edievian	English	Notes
abae do pau	to be uneasy	Literally "to be on spines"
abae nupol do biaom	to be an institution, to stand the test of time	Literally "to be well-shaded", the idiom alludes to something long-lasting have endured many sunny days. Generally it is used with abstract nouns, organizations, or traditions and practices, but it can sometimes be used to refer to people.
abae podarera ar naöm	to be old as dirt, to be ancient/decrepit	Literally "to be older than smoke", this idiom alludes to the old belief that immediately after the world was created, a thick, misty smoked coated the surface of the earth. Anything older than that smoke is decrepit, hence the idiom. It is not a particularly polite phrase, but not vulgar, either. Ab siáe heaem ol podarera ar naöm; "his/her grandmother is old as dirt."
amae polb ca [__]	to have a craving for [__], to be in the mood for [__]	Literally "to have a jump for something", this can be used for both food (mas gae polb ca hansgro, "I'm craving beef") or for an activity (maéis polb ca lopliniat, "s/he's in the mood to go jogging"). Note that if a verb is the object, it must be put in the nominal form.
amae raed rof	to be inexperienced, green	Literally "to have a wet back", the phrase most likely developed from fishers who hadn't figured out how to cast a line without whipping themselves with water from the previously used lure, though it may have come from ridiculing amateur fishermen who had fallen out of their boats.
amae taln polmor ev próis	to be stupid	Literally "to have a head full of feathers", the phrase plays on the homonymy of praos, which means "feather" or "stupid" (they differ in plural, próis and pros, respectively). On a similar vein, speaking of someone's 'plumage' (praostet) is an allusion to stupidity (praostoc).
aren ca tonatriat ecaor	a shoddy or poorly-made counterfeit	Literally "sand in place of roe/caviar". The phrase connotes a sense of being unabashed about the intended swindle, that there was no shame in trying to pass sand off as caviar.
aslae ióis acil si [__]	to fall in love with someone	The si [__] refers to the "someone", the person who the subject has fallen for. Literally, it means "to fall on one's heels by someone". For example, "s/he fell in love with me" would be Slaen ióis acil sig.
bivae po lóic	to rain buckets, to rain cats and dogs	Literally "to rain in ponds", it's generally negative more so than just observational (heavy rain would just be flost bivae).
catae fael bivcatops	to drink like a fish	Literally "to drink like a gutter", and is used to describe the town drunk.
di u setráind	very clumsy and uncoordinated	Literally "fish-feet", it is usually used with amae, such as Am du di u setráind, "you are so clumsy."
eddeolae siáe cadiésaol a [__]	to have too much on one's plate	Literally "[someone's] bucket overflows". Not much to add other than needing to inflect "a" correctly for person, number, or the definite article: Eddeolaéins siáe cadiésaol ac dóis mand mimbor, "I had too much on my plate last month."
laae [___] aéis diígión	to put off indefinitely	Literally "to push to the afternoon", it derives from an old excuse to avoid farm work by pushing it to the afternoon, when it would then be too hot to efficiently get work done, as opposed to the cooler mornings. Nowadays it's used as a cop-out and a procrastination attempt.
hans podar	stubborn old person (often female)	Literally "old cow", this phrase is used disparagingly against stubborn seniors; Endalaen siâig hans podar stegatiat apeshacorg. "That stubborn old crone tried to return a piece of fruit."
lo crin ste din	without rhyme or reason	Literally "without thoughts nor manners/methods"
motae siáe slaclon	to settle things once and for all	Literally "to cut off the branch", this phrase originated as to stop something from sprouting, and then extended metaphorically.
ofae nomops cel draent	to be socially uncouth, to ignore decorum or etiquette	Literally "to use a knife with a plate", this phrase refers to Edievian custom that knives are used solely to prepare food and should not appear at the table. Someone who is rude in an obnoxious manner uses a knife with their plate - which is so barbaric.
ovdos lopae ed	to cheat on	Literally "to run like a fairy from", this idiom stems from the thoughts that traditional Edievian fairies (úivd) are responsible for animals mating and human conception (among other natural duties). Therefore, cheating on your spouse was thought that the fairies were pushing you to conceive elsewhere. Grammatically, it is important to remember that ed must be inflected like all prepositions; Ovdos lopaen le ed Telt. "S/He cheated on Telt" vs. Ovdos lopaen le daéis ebet ol. "S/He cheated on his/her wife."
siáomae sié min un usnir	to be dead	Literally "to eat the tips of carrots", this idiom is used rather figuratively, akin to English "push up daisies". It is believed (though unsupported in text) that this phrase was used figuratively to allude death without mentioning it, in that someone who is buried could just barely eat the tips of carrots growing underground.
tarae sién eb	to notice	Literally "to strike/hit the eyes", this is used much more commonly in speech than the more formal raönae. Instead of tarae agreeing with the subject, it always appears in the the third person singular (so literally, "it strikes the eyes") followed by nes, the appropriate relative pronoun. Raönan nes ierencen. = Taraen sién eb nes ierencen., "I noticed that you left."
tiágae eb u lur	to shoot a dirty look	Usually used with a dative object as well, as in tiágaen eb u lur aec, "s/he shot me a dirty look." Literally, it means "to give arrow-eyes".

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