My Grandfather's Yiddish Sayings

In the original Yiddish!

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They are making a big deal out of this. (Me makht a gants yontef derfun.)

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (Me ken khapn mer flign mit honik vi mit esik)

Man plans and God laughs. (Mann tracht und Gott lacht) New! One of our favorites!

Lying in the ground, baking bagels (Lign in drerd un bakn beygl) New!
Sisyphus-like hell, spending eternity making bagels you can't eat

Look down, and you'll know how high up you are (Kuk arop, vest du visn vi hoykh du shteyst.)

One even gets tired of eating only dumplings (Kreplakh esn vert oykh nimes)

Charm is better than beauty (Kheyn geyt iber sheyn)

Friendship is stronger than kinship (Khavershaft iz shtarker vi brudershaft)

No one is as deaf as they one who will not listen (Keyner iz nit azoy toyb vi der vos vil mit hern.)

You're climbing on the straight wall (Ikh zol azoy visn fun tsores)

I need it like a hole in the head (Ikh darf es vi a lokh in kop)

Beware of your friends, not your enemies (Hit zikh far di fraynd, nit far di faynt.)

Don't know me a teakettle (Hak mir nisht ken tshaynik)
Stop going on and on about the same one thing all the time.

Go threaten geese (Gey strashe di gens)

Tasty is the fish on someone else's table (Geshmak iz der fish fun yenems tish)

Thieves and those in love both love darkness (Ganovim un farlibte hobn lib fintsternish)

At a distance you fool others, close at hand just yourself (Fun vaytn nart men laytn, fun neont zikh aleyn)

From bad matches, come good children (Fun krume shidukhim kumen aroys glaykhe kinder.)

From envy grows hate. (Fun kine vert sine.)

From an old maid, you get a faithful wife (Fun an alte moid vert a getraye vayb)



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