Turkish Proverbs

One armpit cannot hold two watermelons.

One who does not slap his children, will slap his knees. (Parents that do not discipline their children early on, will beat themselves later on when they learn the bad things their grown children have done.)

Sighs never fall on the ground.

The bride who brings a golden throne will sit on it herself.

The fish stinks from the head.

The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of martyrs.

The priest does not eat pilav every day.

The tool makes the hand proud.

There is no royal road to learning.

Things that are weak will break -- as men do who think they are strong.

Too much sympathy with the unfortunate makes you unhappy.

What is loaned will go away smiling and come back crying.

Where there is activity, there is fertility.

Who has seen death will be content with illness.

Wine that isn't paid for is drunk twice.

You harvest what you sow. (Used to remind a person that one's own past actions are responsible for the present situation.)

One arrow does not bring down two birds.

One who handles honey, licks his fingers. (Meaning: Somebody in charge of handling money or resources, get to keep or enjoy some benefits for himself.)

Silence is music to a wise man.

The buyer of the rotten beans is the blind man.

The fly is small, but it can upset your stomach. (Used when an event that seems insignificant to others, still bothers a person.)

The liar's house burned, but nobody believed it.

The raven sees its chickens as falcons.

The tree bearing fruit, gets stoned. (Used to point out that only a productive person trying to do new things gets to be criticized.)

There is no sovereignty like bachelorhood.