Italian Sayings: Group 3

The theme for today's proverbs is CANI, dogs. (And yes, I did Polish dog proverbs too!)

Here are the proverbs:

A cattivo cane, corto legame.
For a bad dog, a short leash.
Notes: Compare the English idiom "to keep someone on a short leash." In this proverb, that "someone" is a bad dog. I like the sound-play here: cattivo-cane-corto.

Cattivo bastone non fa buon cane.
A bad stick doesn't make a good dog.
Notes: I really like this proverb! Negative reinforcement does not work; people and other animals all improve from positive reinforcement, not negative. See Amy Sutherland's book What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers.

Cane vecchio non abbaia invano.
The old dog does not bark in vain.
Notes: In other words, when an old dog, who is wise and experienced, barks, you should pay attention.

Non svegliar il can che dorme.
Don't wake the dog who sleeps.
Notes: Compare the English saying "Let sleeping dogs lie." In poetic language and in proverbs, you can find the form can for cane. There are many variations on this saying: Non stuzzicare il can che dorme, Non destare il can che dorme, etc.

Chi dorme coi cani si risveglia colle pulci.
He who sleeps with dogs wakes up with fleas.
Notes: This is literally true, and it applies metaphorically to any kind of company you keep: you will pick things up (not always good things!) from the people you associate with.

Lava cane, pettina cane, sempre di cane puzza.
Wash the dog, comb the dog, the dog always smells like a dog.
Notes: This is something like how a leopard cannot change its spots, but about smell instead of spots.

Muove la coda il cane non per te, ma per il pane.
The dog wags his tail not for you but for the bread.
Notes: This one rhymes: cane-pane.

Non c'è carne in macelleria che cane o gatto non porti via.
There is no meat in the butcher shop that a dog or a cat won't carry off.
Notes: This is a rhyming proverb too: macelleria-via.

Il cane scottato dall'acqua calda teme anche quella fredda.
The dog scalded by hot water fears cold water too.
Notes: Sometimes this proverb is told about dogs, sometimes about cats (for example, Il gatto che si è bruciato, ha paura anche dell'acqua fredda), but the meaning is the same in either case. Compare the English saying, "Once bitten, twice shy."

Due cani che un solo osso hanno, difficilmente in pace stanno.
Two dogs who have but one bone find it hard to keep the peace.
Notes: This is another rhyming proverb: hanno-stanno.

And here is today's audio (I'm not a native speaker, so this is TTS-generated):



Plus a LOLcat: