古谣谚 卷三

杨慎引俗谚释三拖鞶带

升菴经说

宠婢作管家。

钥匙不响手拨刺。

A description of how it is a bad idea to spoil the maid to the extent that she dominates the entire household.

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杨慎引俗谚释密云不雨

升菴经说

云往东。

一场空。

云往西。

马溅泥。

云往南。

水潭潭。

云往北。

好晒麦。

Describing how the direction of the movements of clouds affects rain.

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杨慎引童子歌谣释绿竹

升菴经说

鸡冠花。

菉蓐草。

Ji Guan flower (the flower that looks like a rooster’s comb), and Lu Ru grass.

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杨慎引谚释硕人之薖

升菴经说

心安茅屋隱。

When one’s heart is at peace, so is one’s thatch-roofed house.

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杨慎引俗谚释禨羞

升菴经说

饥梳头。

饱洗澡。

Comb your hair when you are hungry, take a bath when you are full.

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杨慎引谚释化土

升菴经说

晴则如刀。

雨则如膏。

A certain kind of mud is sharp like knife when the sky is clear and soft like ointment when it is raining.

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蘻草谚

尔雅旧注

苦如蘻

Bitter as Xi grass.

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刘熙引里语释瑱

释名

不瘖不聋。

不成姑公。

If one is not deaf and dumb yet, one is not a mother-in-law or father-in-law to a woman.

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顏师古引谚

匡谬正俗

贼\无歷底中道回。

If bandits do not have an insider to help out, they will turn back half way.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

陆佃引俗语释龙

埤雅

龙精於目。

The sharpest organs of a dragon are its eyes.

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陆佃又引俗语释鯊

埤雅

鯊性沙抱。

The nature of the fish Sha is to hug sand.

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陆佃又引俗语释虎

埤雅

鳩食桑葚则醉。

猫食荷则醉。

虎食狗则醉。

The bird Jiou gets intoxicated by eating mulberries, cats get intoxicated by eating mints, and tigers get intoxicated by eating dogs.

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陆佃又引俗语二则释豺

埤雅

豺群噬虎。

瘦如豺。

The animal Cai can eat tigers as a group.

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陆佃又引里语释狼

埤雅

狼卜食。

Wolves choose the right direction to go for hunting for their food.

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陆佃又引世语释猫

埤雅

薄荷醉猫。

死猫引竹。

Mints intoxicate cats and dead cats in turn induce the growth of bamboo.

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陆佃又引俗语释熊羆

埤雅

熊羆眼直。

恶人横目。

The bears look straight ahead and evil people look to the side.

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陆佃又引世语二则释乌

埤雅

鸳交颈而感。

乌传涎而孕。

鹊传枝。

鸦茹沫。

A female Mandarin duck gets impregnated by crossing its neck to a male duck and a crow gets impregnated by catching saliva. The bird Qui gets impregnated by being attached to some twigs of trees and the bird Ya by eating saliva.

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陆佃又引人语释鳩

埤雅

天將雨。

鳩逐妇。

When it is about to rain, the male Jiu birds chase away the females.

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陆佃又引谚释鷺

埤雅

鷺鷥相逐成胎。

Herons get impregnated after the chase.

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陆佃又引闽谚释鴇

埤雅

鴇无舌。

兔无脾。

The bird Bao does not have a tongue and rabbits do not have spleens.

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陆佃又引俗语释蚊

埤雅

蚊有昏市。

Mosquitoes open their market at dusk.

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陆佃又引谚二则释桃

埤雅

白头种桃。

桃三李四。

梅子十二。

One can plant a peach tree and get fruit even if one is old with gray hair. It takes three years for peach trees to bear fruit, four years for the kind of plum tree called Li and twelve years for the kind of plum tree called Mei.

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陆佃又引俗语释梅

埤雅

梅华优於香。

桃华优於色。

Plum flowers are superior in fragrance, but peach flowers are superior in color.

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陆佃又引谚释木瓜

埤雅

梨百损一益。

楙百益一损。

There is only one benefit and hundreds of bad effects from eating pears. But eating Mao has hundreds of benefits and just one bad effect.

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陆佃又引俗语释芡

埤雅

荷华日舒夜敛。

芡华昼合宵炕。

Lotus flowers bloom during the day and close at night, but Qian flowers close during the day and bloom fiercely at night.

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陆佃又引俗语释藕

埤雅

藕生应月。

月生一节。

闰輒益一。

Lotus roots grow all year round. Every month, the grow another section, and during intercalary months, they get even more time to grow.

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嵇含引谚论蠆

尔雅翼

过满百。

为蠆所螫。

I have over a hundred faults and therefore get bit by Chai (a kind of poisonous insect related to scorpion)

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罗愿引谚论河豚

尔雅翼

得一部。

典一裤。

If one wants to buy three globe fish, one has to sell a pair of pants.

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罗愿又引谚论鯰

尔雅翼

鯰鱼上竹。

The fish Zhan climbs up on bamboo shrubs.

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罗愿又引谚论蟹

尔雅翼

网中得蟹。

无鱼可卖。

If one catches only crabs in the net, then there are no fish to sell.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

罗愿又引谚论蛇

尔雅翼

一亩之地。

三蛇九鼠。

An acre of land contains three snakes and nine ground hogs.

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越人土风歌

说文长笺

其山崔巍以嵯峨。

其水溢沓而扬波。

其人砢而英多。

That mountain is very tall and that water so deep that waves form. That person is gifted with so many good qualities.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

池鱼谚

广韵

城门失火。

殃及池鱼。

There was a fire in the city gate area. As the water from the fish pond was used to put out the fire, the fish died from lack of water.

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时人为应曜语

广韵

商山四皓。

不如淮阳一老。

The four intelligent people in Shang mountain are not as good as that old man in Hui Yang.

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杨慎引蜀童谣释鴃

转注古音略

阳雀叫。

鵜鴃央。

The bird Yang Chui’s call is like shouting, the bird Ti Gui’s call sounds peaceful.