Jamaican proverbs are short, sharp and often funny: a whole piece of advice in one image of a goat, a ghost, a basket or a river. Grandparents use them to teach, parents use them to warn, and everyone uses them to win an argument. Here are 18 well-known ones, each with a word-for-word translation and what it actually means.
Wording varies from family to family and parish to parish. These are common versions, in everyday spelling.
Patience and small steps
One one coco full basket
One one coco full basket.
Literally: one by one, cocos fill the basket.
Meaning: small, steady efforts add up to something big, so be patient. Coco here is cocoyam, a starchy root, not cocoa.
Every mickle mek a muckle
Every mickle mek a muckle.
Literally: every little bit makes a lot.
Meaning: small amounts, especially of savings, grow into big ones. It echoes an old Scots and northern English proverb, a reminder that Patois drew on regional British speech as well as African languages.
Warnings and consequences
If yuh cyaan hear, yuh wi feel
If yuh cyaan hear, yuh wi feel.
Literally: if you can't hear, you will feel.
Meaning: if you won't listen to a warning, you'll learn the hard way. Often said to hard-ears (stubborn) children.
Wah sweet nanny goat a go run him belly
Wah sweet nanny goat a go run him belly.
Literally: what tastes sweet to the nanny goat is going to upset its stomach.
Meaning: what feels good now can bring trouble later.
Every day bucket go a well, one day di bottom a go drop out
Every day bucket go a well, one day di bottom a go drop out.
Literally: the bucket goes to the well every day; one day its bottom will drop out.
Meaning: keep taking the same risk, or getting away with the same wrong, and eventually it catches up with you.
Chicken merry, hawk deh near
Chicken merry, hawk deh near.
Literally: when the chicken is merry, the hawk is near.
Meaning: when you're enjoying yourself carelessly, danger may be close. Stay alert in good times.
Trouble nuh set like rain
Trouble nuh set like rain.
Literally: trouble doesn't gather like rain does.
Meaning: you can see rain coming, but trouble arrives without warning.
Fire deh a mus mus tail, him tink a cool breeze
Fire deh a mus mus tail, him tink a cool breeze.
Literally: fire is at the mouse's tail and he thinks it's a cool breeze.
Meaning: someone is in real danger and doesn't realise it.
Power, bullies and staying safe
Duppy know who fi frighten
Duppy know who fi frighten.
Literally: a ghost knows who to frighten.
Meaning: bullies pick on people they think are weak. A duppy is a ghost or spirit of the dead.
Nuh cuss alligator long mout till yuh cross river
Nuh cuss alligator long mout till yuh cross river.
Literally: don't insult the alligator's long mouth until you've crossed the river.
Meaning: don't offend someone who can still hurt you. Wait until you're out of their reach.
Cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight
Cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight.
Literally: a cockroach has no business in a chicken fight.
Meaning: stay out of quarrels between people more powerful than you. In a fight between chickens, the cockroach is the one that gets eaten.
Sorry fi mawga dog, mawga dog tun roun bite yuh
Sorry fi mawga dog, mawga dog tun roun bite yuh.
Literally: feel sorry for a thin dog and it will turn around and bite you.
Meaning: the people you help may turn on you, so be careful whom you take pity on. Mawga means thin.
Appreciation and ingratitude
Cow nuh know di use a him tail till it cut off
Cow nuh know di use a him tail till it cut off.
Literally: a cow doesn't know what its tail is for until it's cut off.
Meaning: you don't appreciate something, or someone, until you've lost it. (Think of a cow without a tail in fly season.)
Wanti wanti cyaan get it, getti getti nuh want it
Wanti wanti cyaan get it, getti getti nuh want it.
Literally: the one who wants and wants can't get it; the one who gets and gets doesn't want it.
Meaning: people often don't value what they have, while others long for the same thing. The doubled words are classic Patois reduplication.
New broom sweep clean, but ole broom know di corner
New broom sweep clean, but ole broom know di corner.
Literally: a new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows the corners.
Meaning: newcomers may be eager and impressive, but experience knows where the real problems hide. Often said about a new partner versus an old one, or a new worker versus an experienced one.
Hiding feelings and hard times
Tek kin teet kibba heart bun
Tek kin teet kibba heart bun.
Literally: use a grin to cover heartburn.
Meaning: smile to hide your pain; put on a brave face. Kin teet is skin teet, to grin, and kibba means to cover.
When trouble tek yuh, pickney shut fit yuh
When trouble tek yuh, pickney shut fit yuh.
Literally: when trouble takes hold of you, a child's shirt fits you.
Meaning: hard times humble you, and you'll accept things you'd normally turn down. Shut is shirt, and a pickney is a child.
Minding your own business
Mi come yah fi drink milk, mi nuh come fi count cow
Mi come yah fi drink milk, mi nuh come fi count cow.
Literally: I came here to drink milk, not to count cows.
Meaning: I'm here for my own purpose, not to get involved in other people's business. A polite way to refuse to take sides or gossip.
How proverbs are used
Jamaicans rarely announce a proverb. It drops into conversation as a comment, and often only half of it is said: Well, chicken merry... and everyone fills in the rest. They're especially common in advice from elders, in disputes, and in teasing. Many share the style of West African proverbs, with animals standing in for people, and the trickster spirit of the Anansi stories is never far away. For everyday phrases rather than sayings, see common Jamaican expressions.
Questions people ask
Where do Jamaican proverbs come from?
From several traditions. Many resemble West African proverbs in style and imagery, some are Jamaican versions of British sayings (every mickle mek a muckle echoes a Scots proverb), and some draw on the Bible. The exact origin of most individual proverbs isn't documented, so be wary of confident claims about where a particular one began.
Do Jamaicans still use proverbs?
Yes, especially older people, parents and grandparents, and in arguments, advice and teasing. Many people quote just the first half and expect you to know the rest. Proverbs also turn up in songs, speeches and newspaper columns.
Why are there different versions of the same proverb?
Proverbs are passed on by word of mouth, so wording varies by family, district and generation, and there's no single spelling of Patois. Mout might be written mouth, and wah might be wha. The meaning is what stays stable.