Proverbs in your worlds.

[King_Cagn]

To me sometimes it's the words of a culture or religion that makes a people quite interesting in a book, show or movie. With reading GoT, "Valar Morghulis" is a known proverb used regularly by the people.

So what are known proverbs in your worlds?

For the still to be named tribe that one of the MC's is from : "May the Great Eagle guide your flight" - is a common proverb.

"Let the Crows be unto your flesh and Ravens your Spirit" - this is common amongst the tribes especially when one tribe goes to war with another.

"Yeux Suel" - Amongst the elves (especially the eldest) this is a proverb which simply means, "Stars guide your ways"

I've got others but mostly have forgotten them, so what are your world's most common proverbs?

 

[Jabrosky]

Those sound less like proverbs than blessings of goodwill. A proverb usually states some form of wisdom. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," for instance.

 

[King_Cagn]

Hmm... Meh, proverbs, sayings, quotes... Meh.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Yeah, I don't have proverbs of any sort, but here's the closest thing I could come up with:

One, two, three… the numbers ticked by in her head. It was Lazaro Marcello, who taught her to count before striking. “Patience,” he always said, “is Rada’s greatest virtue. If you want the gods to guide you, give them a chance to intervene.”

 

[Devor]

There is one thing my characters say a lot. Government officials are known as scholars, so you get:

"Only children and scholars care about foreign fashion."

Where the underlined part could be just about anything that isn't relevant to day-to-day life.

 

[Queshire]

Mmm... Well I like using rot as a general curse, go rot for example, but considering that I'm thinking about having my latest setting feature floating islands over a sea of clouds. The lower islands within the cloud sea would be darker due to the eternal mist, full of monsters, and barbarian tribes, so I might do something with cloudy/misty being associated with darkness/evil while clear skies attributed with goodness.

Other than that, I have no real plans for sayings.

 

[Shreddies]

I think I had a throwaway proverb that went something like: 'Don't kick the Flumph'.

But I'm pretty sure I never explained what a Flumph was.

 

[Lunaairis]

I have a couple sayings of good will for my tezre world. things along the lines like;"May your shadow be black and it engulf the world.", "Where ever you walk, may the south wind follow."

Negative sayings tend to revolve around being sun baked, sand, or sand storms. Its not uncommon to hear "He travels with the north wind." or "The north winds are howling." which is in reference to the fact when the north winds are blowing there will be a sand storm. so Its associated with bad luck.

"Never take a forestash when you can ride a Romarrow." This is a funnier one. Forestash are the common mounts of the world, they are like camels crossed with turtles. They are big hulk like creatures which are kind of slow but reliable. Since they are common its come represent the "lower" class of society. Romarrow on the other hand are large deer like animals. They are fast, elegant, rare, difficult to train but in a moment the can make all the difference in a battle. They are associated with nobility, and common folk may only come across one, once or twice when in peace times.

This saying is applied more to receiving a job, "take the rare one which you may never see again, then stick with the same old, same old. "

 

[ThinkerX]

Hmmm...one I'm using in a current tale is.

'Elves are all crazy, and all half-elves are half-crazy.'

Something the human MC thinks about fairly frequently because his mentor is a half elf.

 

[Creed]

I think most author's fail to use the power of proverbs and sayings, at least in most of the books I read. I thoroughly enjoy the proverbs of The Prince of Nothing, and definitely in the Dragon Age universe (the Qunari and their language is so intriguing). Their inclusion can be wonderful little treats for a reader like me.
Some I use are:
"Ice puts us in our place" by the men of High North, describing the harshness of their winters (and their value of hardship).
"Luck changes with the tide" on a world with several moons and large, fast, unpredictable tidal changes.
"Where there are bones, something has died" by nomads in the Korseki subcontinent. My version of 'Where there's smoke, there's fire'.
"(Don't speak too soon) The wheel is still spinning" a reference to Bob Dylan (the wheel's still in spin) and to a religious belief regarding the wheel of stars as a force of fate, as in of your name being pulled.
I also employ the use of real world proverbs.

 

[Terry Greer]

I like building multiple meanings out of world elements in my worlds as I think it gives it richness.

For example:
I have a number of phrases in my Jangada saga that relates to a particularity nasty carnivorous mount (A sort of giant weasel-like thing that is part horse, part Rottweiler).
They hunt as siblings, and there are between 3 and 5 in a litter.

Several sayings have therefore grown up around Lopes:

A hand of lopes (i.e. 5 lopes - you don't want a hand of lopes on your trail).

A children's joke:
Q - 'What's the best way of riding a Lope?'
A - On the outside.

Lopes are dangerous and difficult to ride so:

'Riding a Lope' has become an expression used when describing a situation that you don't like, but which you have to just hang on and see what happens because to stop is certain failure/doom/death.

There is also a well known phrase that 'if a lope is on your trail you are already dead'.

 

[Nagash]

The way I see it, sayings and proverbs are often cultural productions narrowly associated to a monolithic reference, i.e. the Bible in the Roman-Catholic world, out of which several iconic quotes spawned. In this regard, i've actually worked on a few of my own ever since i began my WIP, most of them being extracts from the canonical collection of writings related to the most influent religion i've imagined so far. Here are a few, mostly under the form of mottos :

"Obey when you can, fight when you should, die when you must..." ~ A very popular saying amongst the military

"We prevail..." ~ A very popular motto, mostly used in the same context as the real-life, presidential "God bless America"

"Naa'ha Jehir" (litt. "[For you] we shall perish") ~ Another common saying in the military, used as a solemn greeting, and referencing an important psalm in The Book of Serkam : "For thee, great one who births the sun and swallows the sea, we shall perish..."

"With Syleh on your side" ~ A casual, and frequently used expression, one usually says to a departing traveler; Syleh is the quintessential God of Wind, and a popular figure in several cultures. As such, this saying is seen as a blessing, for it brings good luck to those going out at sea.

"Ãœrr da Zaare" ~ A proverb meaning "Hate the Snake" or "Hate the Sehras" (reptilian people worshiping a serpent god), which is a symptom of radical racism within a specific society (Khalaani) which has suffered greatly at the hands of said Sehras.

 

[Queshire]

Hmmm.... not sure if I agree with the monolithic reference bit. I mean, what about proverbs like an apple a day keeps the doctor away and other folk wisdom like that?

 

[Lace]

I can't think of too many proverbs I use right off the top of my head. I did use "a broken heart is what you'll get when you choose to love a dragon," in a short I hashed out a while back.

I do tend to use elements in my world when cursing or in exclamations like "under the suns" in a world with two suns. It is definitely a cool thing to have in your story, now I want to incorporate more into my current WIP.

 

[JourneyToTheWest]

Well, so many of them coming to me if I am writing with Chinese. Here I try to translate one:

"Fallen is the well-trained horseman, drowned is the experienced swimmer, drunk is the good drinker, and killed in battle is the elite warrior."

And if you need any other, just let me know, I am willing to help.

 

[D. Gray Warrior]

"May the Phoenix Rest!"- This is used by clerics of the Phoenix Cult. The world has no sun, so instead a Phoenix lights the world. Worship of the Phoenix is what keeps it alive. Every night it goes to sleep, and awakes again at dawn.

The clerics believe if the Phoenix dies, the world will come to an end, a new Phoenix will be born, and new creations will roam the world, so the clerics want to keep the Phoenix alive for as long as they can.

 

[gowph3ar]

"Some men were carved from stone, some shaped from clay and other were scraped from the boot of God and made to serve as slaves." A saying from my story about the races of men.

 

[Gurkhal]

"Every season...

...end with another

...turns to another

...is necessary for the next

...etc."

various version of saying that changes are part of nature.

 

[Gryphos]

"Never trust a man who's been twice to Sofea." - Sofea is the holy city in my world, and a place people are encouraged to go at least once in their life. The proverb is saying how a person who's been there again has some reason to confess, and so should be watched.

"A quiet horse is too easily forgotten." - In reference to the powerful and aggressive nation of Cabalion, the symbol of which is a horse. Basically saying how even when a former enemy goes quiet and passive, their past acts shouldn't be forgotten.

The tribal Curg people in my world have a belief that they're only guests upon the land, and that when they die they "go home". They don't actually have any blunt word for dying. For example, on their deathbed a person might say "I am going home" or "Home beckons me".

 

[Gurkhal]

Here's another

"Every leaf will fall."

Meaning that everything will one day come to and end, but also that from that end something new will eventually grow.