இ 未见过大蛇屙屎..Big Snake Defecate

Bananaz wanted to have a comprehensive insurance so asked for offers hoping to get C&G *cheap&good* protection. The first company offered: "From cradle to grave" but the second was better: "From womb to tomb." Bananaz was just about to take this when a third company came up with the ultimate offer: "From erection to resurrection!" Here goes the three presentations:

The first presenter 'From cradle to grave' said, "When one of our insured died suddenly on Monday, we got the news that evening and were able to process the claim for the wife and had mailed a cheque on Wednesday evening".

The second presenter 'From womb to tomb' said, "We are better, when one of our insured died without warning on Monday, we learned of it in 2 hours and were able to hand-deliver a cheque the very same evening itself".

The last presenter 'From erection to resurrection' said, "That's nothing! You guys are missing the big picture and most certainly 未见过大蛇屙屎 *pinyin* "wèi jiàn guò dà shé ēshǐ"; Cantonese:"mei6 cang4 gin3 gwo1 daai6 se4 o1 si2" [lit. never seen a big snake defecate before] Our office is on the 20th floor of the Twins Tower. One of our insured who was cleaning a window on the 85th floor, slipped and fell. We handed him his cheque as he passed our floor".

Of course the above presentation or rather a joke may be exaggerated but hopefully may bring home a point to explain this Chinese idiom 未见过大蛇屙屎 *pinyin* "wèi jiàn guò dà shé ēshǐ" [never seen a big snake defecate before].  WhyAskWhy Bananaz does not have the foggiest (not blaming the recent haze) idea how on earth this Chinese idiom of snake poop came into being. Guess the answer is already there we merely have to read between the lines (anyone can please assist). Honestly who have actually seen a live big snake defecate before? None? Simply put, it means that if we have not seen or know about it, does not mean that it does not exists. One must look at life in a wider perspective and not a knowledge barrier over a myopic view. More than often people would use this idiom when ever someone has a lack of knowledge of not knowing the bigger picture or current situation. When do we invite the 'snakey shit' to slam at our face? When someone is trying to be smart alec for example not aware that it's possible to run a mile in less than 4 minutes or building a 30 story hotel in 360 hours, who then uttered 'its impossible'. Then better watch out for this snakey shit idiom 未见过大蛇屙屎 *pinyin* "wèi jiàn guò dà shé ēshǐ" [never seen a big snake defecate before] to roll over the face.

Seeing is believing in just 15 days..



 This idiom 未见过大蛇屙屎 *pinyin* "wèi jiàn guò dà shé ēshǐ" [never seen a big snake defecate before] also serves as a reminder to be humble at all times as life is always in a flux and a never ending learning process with no proven record of anyone known as Ms/Mr. KnowAll.

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இ Year of 蛇 Snake 2013

The Water Snake slithers in un-officially after midnight on 04Feb2013 according to the solar calendar referred to as Lìchūn立春 *pinyin*.  Traditionally Lìchūn or Laap Chun in Cantonese signifies the beginning of spring in East Asian cultures with special village events, worship and offerings to the gods and ceremonies for a blissful and prosperous new year.  It marks the beginning of another cycle for being the very first day of spring when the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315 ° which is divided into 24 solar terms in a year. However the Chinese New Year which is based on a  lunisolar calendar often referred to as the "Lunar New Year"  calendar incorporates both sun and moon (yin and yang combined ) cycle elements  falls on 10Feb2013 in the Year of the 蛇 Snake.

We will be ushering in the Chinese New Year pretty soon and here is a special mention to Autumn Belle who sparked this entry with her comment in Dec2012 and it goes like this [P/S: hope you'll do a post about auspicious words to say for CNY for us bananas to learn and show off during the CNY season]. For fellow bananaz like me hope this few idioms can assist you to over come some of the challenges in wishing friends and relatives with nice four little words or so called favourable Chinese idioms. Hope the translation is in order and would appreciate the help from those Chinese educated readers to point out any mistakes or adding in more idioms, your feedbacks are most welcome. Bananaz was so embarrassed when a lady with a videocam zoomed right at my face requesting for a nice four little words in Chinese during a CNY dinner gathering as nothing could leave the lips as Bananaz was dumbfounded.

 蛇年大吉
pinyin: shé nián dà jí
cantonese: se4 nin4 daai6 gat1
english : lit. snake year big luck
[very auspicious / extremely lucky in the Year of the Snake]

龍馬精神
pinyin: lóng mǎ jīng shén
cantonese: lung4 maa5 zing1 san4
english : dragon horse full vitality
[with full vitality and spirit of a dragon & horse]

萬事如意
pinyin : wàn shì rú yì
cantonese : maan6 si6 jyu4 yi
english: lit. 10,000 things according to your wishes
[may your 10,000 wishes come true]

大吉大利
pinyin : dà jí dà lì
cantonese : daai6 gat1 daai6 lei
english : lit. big luck/propitious big gains/profit
[great luck great profit]

五福臨門
pinyin : wǔ fú lín mén
cantonese : ng5 fuk1 lam4 mun4
english : lit. 5 fortunes approach door
[5 blessings bestowed upon your household (ie longevity, wealth, health, virtue & a natural/peaceful death)]

招財進寶
pinyin : zhāo cái jìn bǎo
cantonese : ziu1 coi4 zeon3 bou2
english : lit. ushering prosperity enter treasure
[ushering in wealth and prosperity]

生意興隆
pinyin : shēng yì xīng lóng
cantonese : sang1 ji3 hing3 lung4
english : business prosperous
[may you have a prosperous/flourishing business]

金玉滿堂
pinyin : jīn yù mǎn táng
cantonese : gam1 juk6 mun5 tong5
english : gold jade fill hall
[may you have abundance of wealth]

迎春接福
pinyin : yíng chún jiē fú
 cantonese : jing6 ceon1 zip3 fuk1
english: lit. welcome spring receive fortune
[to welcome spring/joy to receive fortune]

Gong Xi Fa Cai & Happy Holidays and May All Your Wishes Come True 心想事成 *pinyin*xīn xiǎng shì chéng; *cantonese*sam1 soeng2 si6 seng4.

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இ 人有三急 : URGENCY

When Bananaz was a little boy will often hear family members coming back home rushing through the front door  yelling *人有三急 rén yǒu sān jí [pinyin]; jan4 jau6 saam3 gap1 [cantonese] : lit. 'people have 3 urgency'* and heading straight to the toilet in a jiffy.  Instead of saying 'excuse me' the message was loud and clear enough for us to make way for the 100m sprinter to dash through. Living in a home where Mandarin and Chinese dialects monopolized all communication with hardly any English, Bananaz will only have to silently adapt with open ears. Knowing pretty well *人有三急 rén yǒu sān jí  : lit. 'people have 3 urgency'* means the same as to answer the call of nature.  That's cool so we have in total two kinds of urgency either a big or small call, now what about the third urgency then? At that tender age Bananaz could be too naive to question further or maybe he did ask but in vain.

This same idiom re-surfaced at college while Bananaz was waiting impatiently, mumbling and grumbling at the dining table as patience was rapidly wearing out. Just about to switch into angry mode  one of my buddies commented: "Hey! Hungry is not stated in the idiom of *人有三急 rén yǒu sān jí : lit. 'people have 3 urgency*, let me tell you what are the threes".  AHA Bingo! Bananaz was jumping in joy to have found the 3rd urgency after a lapse of time. Unconsciously the hunger instantly switched to jubilation mode. Eureka! here is the answer: 1. Urinate  2. Defecate 3. Sexual.

 An amazing blogger [SK] who gave me the inspiration for this post who prefers to hold on to his big call. To find out why? Plz click HERE

However not quite as yet still not the correct or complete answer for the idiom until Bananaz googled recently. Imagine learning Chinese the hearsay way all through out life from a little boy to adolescence until adult to get to the real meaning of this idiom.  Learning is never ending.

What is so URGENT about this idiom * People Have 3 Urgency人有三急 rén yǒu sān jí * :
[ 1 ]. 内急 nèi jí lit. 'internal urgency' consist of urinate and defecate.
[ 2 ]. 性急 xìng jí lit. 'sexual urgency'.
[ 3 ]. 心急 xīn jí lit. 'heart urgency' ie impatient / hurried.

[ 1 ]. 内急 nèi jí : lit. *internal urgency* consist of urinate or defecate
That's how you would have jumped when you are holding on to answer the call of nature.


[ 2 ]. 性急 xìng jí : lit. *sexual urgency*.
A just newly married couple on their very first wedding night who are too impatiently in love.


[ 3 ]. 心急 xīn jí : lit. *heart urgency* ie impatient/ hurried
Another close example of 心急 xīnjí  would apply to an impatient/anxious husband pacing to and fro outside the hospital ward while his wife is delivering their first baby. CAUTION: Be careful not to view this video on a full stomach as it may cause stomach ache or ROTFL.

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இ SàiWēng shī mǎ 塞翁失馬

Just one last single lonely sheet of calendar left hanging on the wall for Year 2011 with only a teeny weeny little block to be crossed out before we blast off Year 2012 when the clock strikes at midnight. Reflecting over the months, life on the overall is like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs constantly in a state of flux. Congratz to those who lived life to their fullest meeting your desired achievements and for some not faring too well please do not despair. Every cloud has a silver lining @ 天無絕人之路 tiān wú jué rén zhīlù. Ending 2011 with an idiom hopefully it may strike a chord.

 塞翁失馬;焉知非福 pinyin:*SàiWēng shī mǎ;  yān zhī fēi fú* Sài Wēng lost his horse, is it [mis]fortune? (Idiom)

There is this old man called SàiWēng 塞翁, staying at the border of the northern frontier of China, who raised horses for a living. Out of the unexpected his prized horse ran away into the nearby mountains. On hearing this bad news, the neighbours came to offer moral support to comfort him. He surprised them by not getting upset at all and said "Perhaps this may turn out to be a good thing". Sure enough a few days later his prized horse return with a wild stallion. Again news spread to the whole village with the neighbours congratulating him. This time SàiWēng replied "Perhaps this may not be such good luck after all" which puzzled the neighbours even more. The very next day his only son was eager to ride on the wild stallion. Unfortunately he was thrown off the horse, hurled a few feet into mid air. That bad landing cost him dearly who suffered a broken leg and restricted his mobility probably for months to recover. The friendly neighbours came again to console SàiWēng, who wisely responded "Perhaps this may turn out to be a good thing". Sure enough few weeks later a warlord came to town enlisting young able men for battle. A blessing in disguise for SàiWēng's son who was of no use to the army with an injured leg. Almost all the young soldiers who fought in the battle field walked the road of no return as chances of survival are slim.



Moral of the story: Life is full of changes and challenges. One has to learn to face and accept losses and not to over react to misfortunes and the same not to be overjoyed by gains or successes. Things happen for a reason.  It is not often we are as fit as a fiddle or facing shortfalls meeting our target. 人無千日好, 花無百日紅 *Pinyin: rén wú qiān rì hǎo, huā wú bǎi rì hóng* literally. people no 1000 days good (healthy), flowers no hundred days red. Which means humans do fall sick once in a while within 1000 days and flowers shall not bloom forever over hundred days. Good and bad times do not last long forever. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst ~:~ 明天會更好 @ ~:~ míngtiān huì gènghǎo:: tomorrow will be a better day.

Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power. ~ Seneca



Seizing this very moment to say THANK YOU to all my readers and for your invaluable and interesting comments. Wishing All A Blessed H:A:P:P:Y N:E:W Y:E:A:R 2012!!!
Orkut Graphics Scraps

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இ To Hear, Or Not To Hear

"If I could have only one of my senses then I would choose hearing, Then I wouldn't feel so all alone." ~ Helen Keller

"One third of our life is spent with our eyes closed, because we are asleep. An estimated twenty years. Yet in any second of those twenty years our ears can command our eyes to open and search for the source of a sound. When our eyes are open our ears can hear through walls, and all around where our eyes cannot see and still command our eyes to search for the source of sounds." ~ Jim S. Davis II, BC-HIS, ACA.

So now how important is your hearing? Have it checked.

Any sound above 85 dB (decibel) can cause hearing loss, and the loss is related both to the power of the sound as well as the length of exposure. You know that you are listening to an 85-dB sound if you have to raise your voice to be heard by somebody else. Eight hours of 90-dB sound can cause damage to your ears; any exposure to 140-dB sound causes immediate damage (and causes actual pain). More info HERE.

TELL ME THIS WON'T HAPPEN TO US!!!

Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were playing golf one fine beautiful day.

One remarked to the other, “Windy, isn't it?”

“No,” the second man replied, “it's Thursday.”

And the third man chimed in, “So am I. Let's have a beer.”

Chinese Idiom: 掩耳盗铃*pinyin:yǎn ěr dào líng [lit. Cover Ear Steal Bell]

 掩 : yǎn *cover* | 耳 : ěr *ear* | 盗 : dào *steal* | 铃 : líng *bell*

 A thief sneaked into the house of Fan at night and saw a huge bronze bell hanging in the front yard. Since bronze could fetch him a good price, without hesitation decided to take it back home. However he faced a stiff problem as it was too heavy to be carried away. He then thought of another idea if he could break the bell into pieces that would solved all his transportation problem. With a first strike of his hammer it gave out a loud deafening bang which caught the thief by surprise and shook him terribly by covering his ears with both hands. At this instance he exclaimed "Aha the sound of the bell can not be heard when the ears are covered." He ripped off part of his clothes and scrolled them into two earplugs and stuffed into his ears. Through out the hammering in the middle of the night the banging noise of the bell woke up all the neighbours and he was caught red handed. The foolish man did not know that the only one who could not hear the sound of the bell was himself.

Image courtesy of  Baidu

This idiom 掩耳盗铃*pinyin:yǎn ěr dào líng* [To plug one's ears when stealing the bell] is used to satirize those who think they are smart but only deceive themselves. This applies to someone who does bad things and buries his head in the sand trying to pull a fast one in telling the world he is innocent.

"You have to hear what you don't want to hear, to know what you don't want to hear" ~ Dr. Gustav Mueller

 

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இ What Make$ The World Go 'Round¿

Great long holidays enabling Bananaz to search for one particular email one by one, month by month at the same time spring cleaning up my inbox of over 17,000 emails. Managed to sweep some under the carpet, some diverted to other email accounts and some headed straight into Mr Recycle Bin. Ever wonder what happened to all the bytes emptied from the recycle bin? They cannot just vapourised into thin air? Could they be lurking around every corner of the key board or hard disk eavesdropping or phishing for information? Appreciate it if anyone has an answer to throw in some light where had all the bytes gone to after leaving the recycle bin? Two days of hard work searching for this email, tQ to Steven Lee here is the story *bear with me if you have heard about it*:

A young unmarried girl discovers that she is pregnant.
Scared..she confides this 'news' to her mother.

Shouting, cursing, crying, the mother says,
"Who was the pig that did this to you? I want to know!"
The father added "wait till I get my hands on this idiot I'm gonna break his bones"

The girl picks up the phone and makes a call.

Half an hour later a Ferrari stops in front of their house; a mature and distinguished man with gray hair and impeccably dressed in a very expensive suit steps out of it and enters the house.

Image courtesy of www.ferrari.com (the new 458 Spider) 

He sits in the living room with the father, the mother and the girl, and tells them:

"Good morning, your daughter has informed me of the 'Problem'.

However, I can't marry her because of my personal family situation, but I'll take full responsibility.

If a girl is born I will bequeath her 2 retail stores, a townhouse, a beach villa and a $1,000,000 bank account.

If a boy is born, my legacy will be a couple of factories and a $2,000,000 bank account.

If it is twins, a factory and $1,000,000 each.

However, if there is a miscarriage or unsuccessful delivery, what do you suggest I do?"

At this point, the girl's father, who had remained silent, places a hand firmly on the man's shoulder and..[...]


~pause~


Are you thinking of what I was thinking, the worst ever bloodshed coupled with breaking of bones?

Make a wild guess; to continue.. : Click Here Exit

[...] At this point, the girl's father, who had remained silent, places a hand firmly on the man's shoulder and tells him,

" You can try again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

Now that the hungry ghost month is over its more relax to talk about ghost. When someone is able to do the 'impossible' with money we use this Chinese idiom 有錢能使鬼推磨 *pinyin:yǒu qián néng shǐ guǐ tuī mó* lit. means money will make the ghost spin millstones *refer pix below*. So money can even make a hippo or elephant climb trees or make frogs jump quantum leap further than the 7 metres world record.



Who says it is impossible for an elephant to climb trees? Bananaz Beleaf It Or Not..¿

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இ "Mouse Loves Big Rice" ~ 老鼠愛大米 [ lǎoshǔ ài dàmǐ ]

In Bananaz last post there is no answer so far to the question of why there is this 'old' lǎo 老 for 'old' tiger 虎[hǔ] and 'old' mouse 鼠[shǔ]? We leave that alone for the time being as the saying goes when the student is ready the master will appear. Thanks to Autumn Belle who says 'old' is sort of a respect. So that's why we have big names like mightymouse, mickey mouse, stuart little to name just a few?. More than often we could get confused with lǎoshī 老師 [teacher] and lǎoshǔ 老鼠 [mouse]. As most Chinese words are derived from the real life images where roughly 600 Chinese characters are pictograms and can you figure out how the word "mouse" to be like in Chinese character? On a note of caution for those Chinese educated friends who may be bored learning the basics kindly bear with Bananaz or why not you are most welcome to contribute more feedback about learning Chinese Mandarin would be much appreciated.

Think the mouse's tail is very obvious pointing towards the right with the 6 whiskers at the head, 3 on each side. Guess the rest of the few strokes and dashes could represent the legs and feet.


Idiom~
猫哭老鼠 māo kū lǎoshǔ
Literally: Cat weeps 'old' mouse
Meaning: The cat weeps for the dead mouse; hypocritical pretence of condolence or crocodile tears



Idiom~
蛇鼠一窩 shé shǔ yī wō
Literally: snake mouse one nest
Meaning: A negative remark regarding people of the same character and bad habit.

*Mouse vs Mouse Trap*

Disclaimer: Kindly take note no mouse was harmed during the filming of this video. Check your awareness on how our mind are affected by the things we see. Its a test on your state of calmness in the second part and your sense of humor thereafter, however have to give back credit to the producer/commercial for the 1.29 minutes of entertainment.

Mouse vs Mouse Trap ~ *It Doesn't Concern Me*.

Did you finish watching the above video to the end? The mouse is a WINNER and always lucky. Still on the topic of mouse.. so a mouse looked through the crack and saw the farmer and his wife opening a package. Its a mouse trap! The mouse alerted the chicken, pig and cow but all said the same "It doesn't concern me". Head down and dejected, the mouse had to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard and in the darkness, a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught bit the farmer's wife. After coming back from hospital she had fever. Everybody knows chicken soup is a good remedy for fever and there goes the chicken.

Friends and relatives heard about her sickness came to take care of the farmer's wife. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse took a peep from the crack in the wall with great sadness.

The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- this mouse trap story...united we stand, divided we fall. "Try a little kindness because when you're kind and you treat people kind you get treated in kind" ~ Glen Campbell.

Mouse not only loves cheese but big rice as well. We can learn a lot of lessons from the mouse. This may be an oldie "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr Spencer Johnson as motivational books do not have any expiry date and learning repeatedly fulfills the law of repetition. The two mice or mouses [what do you think the plural of mouse should be?] 'Sniff' and 'Scurry' did leave a very great impression in me and always remember this "If you don't CHANGE you can become extinct". Would love to dedicate this song to my sifu [SK] for sharing and teaching Bananaz on 'html script' and btw [SK] is now the official 'Scripteaser of the Year'. Here you go "wǒ ài [SK] lǎoshī 老師". Xiexie.

Click button for lyrics in Chinese, PinYin & English: Yes No

"Mouse Loves Rice" Lyrics 老鼠愛大米 lǎoshǔ ài dàmǐ

我聽見你的聲音
wǒ tīng jiàn nǐ de shēng yīn
When I hear your voice

有种特别的感覺
yǒu zhǒng tè bié de gǎn jué
It has this special kind of feeling

讓我不斷想不敢再忘記你
ràng wǒ bù duàn xiǎng bù gǎn zài wàng jì nǐ
that makes me not want to forget you

我記得有一個人
wǒ jì de yǒu yī gè rén
I will always remember there's someone

永遠留在我心中
yǒng yuǎn liú zài wǒ xīn zhōng
who is forever stays in my heart.

哪怕只能夠這樣的想你
nǎ pà zhǐ néng gòu zhè yang de xiǎng nǐ
Even if this is the only way I'll think of you.

如果真的有一天
rú guǒ zhēn de yǒu yī tiān
If there really is a day

愛情理想會實現
ài qíng lǐ xiǎng huì shí xiàn
when this perfect love comes true

我會加倍努力好好對你永遠不改變
Wǒ huì jiā bèi nǔ lì hǎo hǎo duì nǐ yǒng yuǎn bù gǎi biàn
I will work twice as hard to never change for you

不管路有多麼遠
bù guǎn lù yǒu duō me yuǎn
No matter long the road may be

一定會讓它實現
yī dìng huì ràng tā shí xiàn
I will definitely make this love happen

我會輕輕在你耳邊對你說，對你說
wǒ huì qīng qīng zài nǐ ěr biān duì nǐ shuō, duì nǐ shuō
I will lean close to your ear, and gently say

Chorus:
我愛你，愛著你
wǒ ài nǐ, ài zhe nǐ
I love you, loving you

就象老鼠愛大米
jiù xiàng lǎo shǔ ài dà mǐ
Just like a mouse loves rice

不管有多少風雨
bù guǎn yǒu duō shǎo fēng yǔ
No matter how much wind and rain there is

我都會依然陪著你
wǒ dōu huì yī rán péi zhe nǐ
I will stay by your side

我想你，想著你
wǒ xiǎng nǐ, xiǎng zhe nǐ
I miss you, missing you

不管有多麼的苦
bù guǎn yǒu duō me de kǔ
No matter bitter things become

只要能讓你開心
zhǐ yào néng ràng nǐ kāi xīn
So long as I’m able to make you feel happy

我什麼都愿意
wǒ shén me dōu yuàn yì
I’m willing to do anything

這樣愛你
zhè yang ài nǐ
Always love you

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இ Who Let The DOGS Out? ~ [狗]

Dogs are man's best friend. You need full committment to own a dog which is a lifetime relationship. This world is a strange planet we have people sleeping with pet dogs on the same bed, we have people who go helter-skelter upon seeing a dog. Some countries would have dog meat on their menu while some animal lovers protested and campaigned for a ban on eating dogs. One man's meat is another man's poison so debating on this issue until the cows come home will never end. Why not let sleeping dogs lie and have some fun learning some Chinese idioms instead. The word below is DOG ~ 狗 [gǒu] and quite a number of idioms are derived from this word. Another word for dog is 犬 [quǎn].

Oops who let the DOGS o.O"ut?

Who let the dogs out (wo.Of" wo.Of" wo.Of" wo.Of")

Who let the dogs out (wo.Of" wo.Of" wo.Of" wo.Of")

(wo.Of" wo.Of" wo.Of" wo.Of")

ക 指雞罵狗 ~ zhǐ jī mà gǒu
Literally: point chicken scold dog
Meaning: to point at the chicken while scolding the dog; to find a scapegoat


ക 偷雞摸狗 ~ tōu jī mō gǒu
Literally: steal chicken touch dog
Meaning: to dally with women / to have affairs

ക 阿猫阿狗 ~ ā māo ā gǒu
Literally: a cat a dog
Meaning: general term for people of any description; every Tom, Dick & Harry


ക 狗逮老鼠 ~ gǒu dài lǎoshǔ
Literally: dog catches mice
Meaning: to be meddlesome; busy about other people's business

ക 咬人狗兒不露齒 ~ yǎo rén gǒur bù lù chǐ
Literally: bite man dog no show fangs
Meaning: the dog that bites does not show its fangs; You can't tell the real dangerous enemy from his external appearance.

ക 雞飛狗走 ~ jī fēi gǒu zǒu
Literally: chicken fly dog run
Meaning: To drive off or scatter in different directions; dispersed

ക 掛羊頭，賣狗肉 ~ guà yáng tóu, mài gǒu ròu
Literally: hang goat's head, sells dog meat
Meaning: to cheat/dishonest advertising / wicked deeds carried out under banner of virtue.

For those who wishes to listen to the pronunciation either in Cantonese or Putonghua (Mandarin) kindly copy and paste the Chinese words onto the sidebar on the right ~ "Learning By Ear" Powered by CU Vocal and hit the [Read] button. Btw you need to clear those existing Chinese words in the box first before you paste.

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ക SURVIVAL ~ 人為財死 鳥為食亡

Chinese idiom ~ 人為財死, 鳥為食亡

[Pinyin]  rén wèi cái sǐ, niǎo wèi shí wáng

Human because of wealth die, birds because of food perish {direct translation word for word}

It is said that some people will die for money in the way a bird will lose its life fighting for food: The wages of avarice is death.

The [wáng & sǐ] have the same meaning, perish or death relating to the birds struggling in pursuit for food  to stay alive and human beings because of greed risk their  life  for wealth. "In evolutionary biology, struggle for existence is a theory which argues that, because food and room are in limited supply, for a living thing to exist, it must struggle". This theory was formulated in 1798 by English demographer and political economist Thomas Malthus.

ക I'M POSSIBLE ക

According to Darwin's theory : "in the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." Thanks to [SK] for the Chinese translation of 'Survival of the Fittest' 適者生存 [shì zhě shēng cún]. You are about to witness one of the most intelligent animals on earth, the Bottlenose Dolphins in the Coast of Florida developed a strategy with the most brilliant feeding method called "herding". The leader squeezes a school of fish into a contracting circle feeding on the stunned fish at a perfect timing. Watch the video from BBC on 'Life' to the very end where you shall see the various creatures facing the Challenges of life every single day.

Nice peaceful beach front with all the turtles returning to lay their eggs. BUT..

What a SHAME the turtle eggs are stolen to be sold. There is absolutely zero struggle for survival as there is no chance even for the helpless female turtle to cover up her own eggs, before the unscrupulous intruder steals away what Nature has given her to protect her young.

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!

In this dog bite dog bone 狗 咬 狗 骨 [gǒu yǎo gǒu gǔ] world we are facing stiff competition everyday and that's the reality of life ~ the survival of the fittest. Dare to swim with the sharks or prefer with the Bottlenose Dolphins? Check this out "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive" - by Harvey Mackey [HERE] a book highly recommended by Donald Trump: "A must for everyone and anyone entering the business world". Good Luck for not being eaten alive. Enjoy your weekend and have a whale of time.

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ക Chinese Idiom ~ AN OLD HORSE KNOWS THE WAY ~ 老馬識途 {Lǎomǎ shìtú}

"An Old Horse Knows the Way" ~ 老馬識途 

This story is about Duke Huan from the State of Qi, a battle over the State of Shanrong and Gu Zhu in spring and autumn period (770-476BC) which was a distance away from Qi. By the time the State of Shanrong and Gu Zhu was defeated winter sets in a little early. Duke Huan and his army lost their way back to Qi. His minister, Guan Zhong suggested to him, "Why not let the old horses to lead the way, they have excellent animal intuition". Sure enough the army followed the old horses and arrived home safely. Thus the Chinese idiom "An Old Horse Knows The Way" is to praise an experienced person who knows his job and role functions or his way very well. (Special thanks to Jeannie, my newfound Chinese teacher 老師 { lǎoshī } for her kind assistance, please click HERE to visit her blog and learn this idiom in Chinese/English with pīnyīn).

However on the other side of the coin if the idiom is misused it could be disastrous. This is a true sharing  by my optician, Mr AP Chong, about his observation if you were to add in certain Chinese words it could be fatal. Besides the two most popular words  of "Yam Seng" (bottoms up) at dinner functions, another four words that is notoriously hazardous to drinkers who frequently uttered 不醉不歸 {bùzui bùguī} (literally means 'no drunk no home'). Some mindset have not been changed as the idiom "An old horse knows the way" cannot be applicable in this instance anymore, it is obsolete. Those ancient days you can depend on your faithful old horse who knows the way home even when you are dead drunk but not in this new millennium. You either kill or be killed when you are driving under influence of alcohol, in short DUI. Drink all you can provided if you have someone to send you home.

Thanks to Irene Hoi for the email which many may have seen before but needed to be reminded regularly. It is very timely and related to the highlights of the danger of DUI as you can see below how devastating it could be to a lovely teenager where her future is totally wrecked by a freak DUI accident. (CAUTION : Graphic images maybe gruesome to some).

Jacqueline Saburido was hit by another car that was driven by a 17-year old male student on his way home after drinking a couple of hard packs with his friends. This was in December 1999. Jacqueline was caught in the burning car and her body was heavily burnt during around 45 seconds. After the accident Jacqueline has needed over 40 operations. Not everyone who gets hit by a car dies.

(Click on the picture for full details)

This picture was taken 4 years after the accident and the doctors are still working on Jacqueline, whose body was covered with 60% severe burns. Let's make as many people as we can to be aware of the consequences of drinking & driving.

Her traumatic condition moved me to tears as I was doing up this post. Let's pray for her speedy recovery. May she be well and happy, may she be free from mental and physical suffering and also to all the victims of DUI as well. Please have a heart, "DON'T DRINK & DRIVE".

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