Chicken gat feddah, but he can't do fowl wuk. | Youth has its limitations. Experience teaches wisdom. |
Hurry, hurry, spile yuh curry. | Look before you leap. |
All cassava gat same skin, but all nah taste same way. | Though people may look alike because of their mode of dress, they are different in their ways. |
Baby who ah cry ah house, and ah door, a de same thing. | The same manner in which you treat your child, you should treat another's. |
Belly full behind drunk. | After you have eaten and drunk a lot, you tend to become lazy. |
Big tree fall down, goat bite he leaf. | When a great man falls, he is no longer feared and respected. |
Bush got ears, and dutty got tongue. | Sometimes you think that what you do or say nobody sees or hears, but yet your secrets are known. |
Cat foot soft but he ah scratch bad. | Some people may seem friendly and understanding, but to your surprise it is not really so. |
Cuss when yuh ah guh, nah wheh yuh ah come out. | You must not curse the place that you have come from, because sometime in the future you may have to return. |
Contrary breeze ah mek crow and eagle light on one line. | When there is trouble, enemies are sometimes forced to get together to solve problems. |
Cow deh a pasture, he nah remember seh dog and butcher deh tell he see am. | Sometimes when you think you are safe, danger is lurking nearby. |
Cat a ketch rat, but he a teef he massa fish. | Good and evil come from the same source. |
Clath a easy fuh dutty, but hard fuh rub. | Having achieved a goal, it is difficult to retain it. |
De mouth dat man tek fuh court woman, ah de same mouth he ah tek an put she ah door. | When a man is courting a woman, he is very concerned, kind, and considerate, but when the novelity of the relationship is over, he finds faults and is unkind. |
Don't mind how bird vex; it can't vex with tree. | It does not matter if you are annoyed with conditions at work, you have to return to your job. Similarly, although you may be frustrated with the situation in your homeland, you may still have to return to it. |
Dog buy rum, cow ah drink am, hog in sty get drunk. | A matter may not concern someone, yet he or she gets involved. |
Every rope got two ends. | Every story has two sides. |
Every fowl feed pon he own craw. | Everyone has to learn and find out what is good for himself or herself. |
Every Best Friend get a next Best Friend |
Your secrets are spread from Best Friend to Best Friend to Best Friend. |
Every bush a man night time. | Things seem worse than they really are when we are afraid. |
Fish ah deh ah watah but nah ah dam tap. | There are places where you can play an important part, but there are other places where you can be insignificant. |
Fish ah play ah sea, he nah know watah ah boil fuh am. | Sometimes when you are enjoying yourself, unknown to you, trouble is brewing in the background. |
Fish and cast-net nah friend. | In life it is difficult for you to relate to someone who may be unfriendly or hostile. |
Good gubby nah ah float ah top. | Good things do not come easily. |
Hungry nah know bam-by. | If you have a need, you grasp at everything that fulfills it. |
If yuh finger get sore, nah ah tek am and throw way. | A member of your family may turn delinquent but that does not mean that you must disown him or refuse to help him. |
If yuh eye nuh see, yuh mouth nah must talk. | You must see for yourself before you talk. |
If cow-man pass wild meat, whah mek me must pick up am. | You should not go against the decision or choice of a person you feel is qualified to make the right choice. |
It nah good to shove yuh foot in every stocking. | You should try not to position yourself everywhere, or in everything. |
"If me bin know" always deh behind de door. | We are quick to use ignorance for our mistakes. |
If yuh nah gat wing, nah ah guh a bird sport. | If you feel that you do not belong somewhere, you should not go tehre. Also, if you are unable to do something, you should not do it. |
Cach-a-roach nah got business weh fowl-cock deh. | It may be dangerous to go where you do not belong. |
If dutty ah deh ah roof tap, yuh barrel ah catch am. | Children learn bad habits from their parents. |
If oil ah float, watah deh ah battam. | A little evidence can tell the whole story. |
If yuh plant plantain, yuh can't reap cassava. | You reap what you sow. |
If trousers say massah teef, yuh can't doubt am. | If someone close to you says something about you it is most likely true. |
Lil fingah point to de big thumb and she nah guh. | Those who are leading can see the danger ahead and are in a position to give advice. |
Lil boy nah climb ladder to turn big man. | Only time can make you what you will be. |
Lil ah stick, big ah get better. | When you are small you are insignificant, but when you become big you are strong and important. |
Macaw ask parrot if mango ripe; he say "one, one". | You should not tell everything. Room should be left to others to find out some things for themselves. |
Moon ah run till daylight ah ketch am. | You may think that you are getting away with your misdeeds, but one day you will be caught. |
Nah all who guh a church house guh fuh pray. | You must not take everything at face value. |
Nah tek yuh mattie eye fuh see. | See for yourself and form your own conclusions instead of relying on the reports of others. |
Nah one-time fire mek peas a boil. | Some things take along time to be completed. |
Nah because dog ah play wit yuh he nah bite yuh. | Some people talk kindly to you but they are capable of hurting you. |
Nah every crabhole gat crab | Things do not always turn out to be what you expect them to be. |
Nah every big head gat sense. | If a person's head is big it is not necessarily brainy. |
Nah mind how pumpkin vine run, he mus dry up one day. | Every life comes to an end sooner or later. |
Nah put all two foot in river if yuh want see how he deep. | Do not jump into a venture before you make sure that it is worthy. |
Never guh a store ah night fuh buy black cloth. | You must attempt something only when all aspects are clear. |
Nobody want dutty powder. | People will not respect you if you have a bad reputation. |
One kiss nah done lips. | A source of enjoyment is always available where it was once found. |
One man money mek too much man cry. | Sometimes when a person dies others will cry not so much in sorrow, but in joy for the expected inheritance. |
Orange yellow, but yuh nah know if he sweet. | You cannot judge everything from the outside. |
Rain ah fall ah roof, yuh put barrel fuh ketch am. | There is an opportunity for everyone and you must try to grasp it. |
Shame-face ah feel like cent-ice. | When you are made to feel ashamed, you wish you could disappear from the public's eye. |
Sloe fire ah boil hard cow-heel. | If you persevere you can make great accomplishments. |
Tongue nah gat teeth, but he ah bite fuh true. | You can hurt a person by what you say as if you literally bite him. |
Too much sit-down ah bruck trousers. | Lazy people wear out their pants and get nothing done. |
The looks ah de pudding is not de taste. | You should not always take things by their looks. |
When man mek heself sugar he mattie ah suck am. | Sometimes when you make yourself too kind,your friends and associates will take advantage. |
When man done suck cane he dash peeling pon ground. | Some people make use of things and people, and then carelessly discard them. |
When Mumma dead family done. | When a mother is around, she keeps the family together, but when she dies the members of the family tend to scatter. |
When yuh dead yuh nah sabee, and when yuh sabee yuh dead. | You spend a lifetime trying to acquire knowledge and understanding, and when it seems that all has been grasped, life ends. |
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