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Corsican proverbs

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Corsican is a Tuscan dialect dialect spoken in the island of Corsica.

B

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  • Bisogna fa di forza legge.
    • Idiomatic translation: Make a virtue out of necessity.
    • Meaning: Acquiesce in doing something unpleasant with a show of grace because one must do it in any case.
    • Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 1079. ISBN 0415096243. 
  • Bole piglia l'anguilla pe a coda.
    • Idiomatic translation: You might as well try to hold an eel by the tail.
    • "He that does not speak Truth to me, does not believe me when I speak Truth."
    • Thomas Fuller, Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727)
    • Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 480. ISBN 0415096243. 

C

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  • Chi ha tempu unn ' aspetti tempu.
    • English equivalent: When fortune knocks, be sure to open the door.
    • von Düringsfield, Ida; von Düringsfield, Otto. "573, Gelegenheid". Sprichwörter der germanishcen und romanischen Sprachen Vergleichend. I. pp. 297-298. 

D

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  • Dimmi con chi vai, ti dirò quel che tu fai.
    • English equivalent: If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.
    • von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, Ida; von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, Otto (1875). "498, umgehst" (in German). Sprichwörter der germanischen und romanischen Sprachen. II. pp. 275–276. 
  • Dopo fatta la cosa, consiglio non vale.
    • English equivalent: When a thing is done, advice comes too late.
    • von Düringsfield, Ida; von Düringsfield, Otto. "580, Geschehenr". Sprichwörter der germanishcen und romanischen Sprachen Vergleichend. I. pp. 301. 
  • Duve si ha de beie un ci si sputa.
    • English equivalent: Don't spit where you need to drink.
    • Refers to someone who causes trouble in their immediate surroundings.
    • Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends And Influence People (1934)
    • Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 634. ISBN 0415096243. 

E

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  • È chiucu ancu a pevaru.
    • English equivalent: Every hair casts its shadow.
    • Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 0415096243. 
  • È meglio solo che mal compagnadi.
    • Translation: It is better to be alone than to be in bad company.
    • English equivalent: Better be alone than in bad company.
    • Source for proverb: Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 572. ISBN 0415096243. 

F

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  • Forse un diaule caccia il altru.
    • English equivalent: One nail drives out another.
    • "As one nail drives out another,
      So the remembrance of my former love
      Is by a newer object quite forgotten."
    • William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (1592)
    • Emanuel Strauss (1994). Dictionary of European Proverbs. Taylor & Francis. pp. 648–. ISBN 978-0-415-10381-7. 

L

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  • La notte è madre di consigliu.
    • English equivalent: To take counsel of one's pillow.
    • von Düringsfield, Ida; von Düringsfield, Otto (1875). "232, Rath" (in German). Sprichwörter der germanischen und romanischen Sprachen vergleichend zusammengestellt von Ida von Duringsfeld und Otto Freihern von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld. II. p. 129. 

P

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  • Per chi un sa zappà, tutte e zappe so malfatte.
    • English equivalentː An ill workman quarrels with his tools.
    • von Düringsfield, Ida; von Düringsfield, Otto (1875). "329, Schreiber" (in German). Sprichwörter der germanishcen und romanischen Sprachen Vergleichend. II. pp. 184-185. 

Q

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  • Quandu t'è prumess u purcellu, legalu en u muscellu.
    • Translation: Seize the offer.
    • English equivalent: When the pig is proffered, hold up the poke.
    • "I knew that what I had felt was envy or regret, not for something lost but for something never achieved."
    • P. D. James, Dr. Theodore Faron character in The Children of Men (1992)
    • Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 1226. ISBN 0415096243. 

U

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  • U megliu è spessu nemicu di u be.
    • English equivalent: Better is the enemy of good.
    • von Düringsfeld, Ida (1872). "218" (in German). Sprichwörter der germanishcen und romanischen Sprachen Vergleichend. II. H. Fries. p. 113. 
  • Un lascià mai corre u certu per l'incertu.
    • English equivalent: He that leaves certainty and sticks to chance, When fools pipe, he may dance.
    • von Düringsfield, Ida; von Düringsfield, Otto (1875). "594, Gewiss" (in German). Sprichwörter der germanishcen und romanischen Sprachen Vergleichend. I. p. 308. 

See also

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