Click to enlarge.
"They both shit through the same hole." Hahaha. What a great way to lance the boil of cliquishness.
So many other wonderful lost locutions!
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Flemish Proverbs. 1559. Oil on panel. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.
Here's Wiki on it with some of the proverbs updated...if you go to the Wiki entry for "Netherlandish Proverbs," you will see they have zeroed in on where each proverb is illustrated in the painting with a detail.
Netherlandish Proverbs
Artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Year 1559
Type Oil-on-panel
Dimensions 117 cm × 163 cm (46 in × 64 in)
Location Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Netherlandish Proverbs (also called The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) is a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder which depicts a land populated with literal renditions of Flemish proverbs of the day. The picture is overflowing with references and most of the representations can still be identified; while many of the proverbs have either been forgotten or never made the transition to the English language, some are still in use. Proverbs were popular during Bruegel's time: a number of collections were published including a famous work by Erasmus. Frans Hogenberg had produced an engraving illustrating about 40 proverbs in around 1558 and Bruegel himself had painted a collection of Twelve Proverbs on individual panels by 1558 and had also produced Big Fish Eat Little Fish in 1556, but Netherlandish Proverbs is thought to be the first large scale painting on the theme. Rabelais depicted a land of proverbs in his novel Pantagruel soon after in 1564.
Bruegel's paintings have themes of the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of mankind, and this painting is no exception. The picture was originally entitled The Blue Cloak or The Folly of the World which indicates he was not intending to produce a mere collection of proverbs but rather a study of human stupidity. Many of the people depicted show the characteristic blank features which Bruegel used to portray fools. His son, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, specialised in making copies of his father's work, and painted up to twenty copies of Netherlandish Proverbs. Not all versions of the painting, by father or son, show exactly the same proverbs, also differing in other details.
Detail
There are around 100 identifiable idioms in the scene (although Bruegel may have included others). Some are still in use today, amongst them: "swimming against the tide", "big fish eat little fish", "banging one's head against a brick wall" and "armed to the teeth", and there are some that are familiar if not identical to the modern English usage, such as "casting roses before swine". Many more have faded from use or have never been used in English, "having one's roof tiled with tarts" for example which meant to have an abundance of everything and was an image Bruegel would later feature in his painting of the idyllic Land of Cockaigne. The Blue Cloak referred to in the painting's original title is being placed on the man in the centre of the picture by his wife. This was indicative that she was cheating on him. Other proverbs indicate mankind's foolishness: a man fills in a pond after his calf has died, just above the central figure of the blue-cloaked man another man carries daylight in a basket. Some of the figures seem to represent more than one figure of speech (whether this was Bruegel's intention or not is unknown), such as the man shearing a sheep in the centre bottom left of the picture. He is sat next to a man shearing a pig, so represents the expression "one shears sheep and one shears pigs" meaning that one has the advantage over the other, but he may also represent the advice "shear them but don't skin them" meaning make the most of your assets.
Expressions featured in the painting
Proverb & Meaning
To even be able to tie the devil to a pillow = Obstinacy overcomes everything
To be a pillar-biter = To be a religious hypocrite (OH HOW THIS ONE HAS CHANGED!)
To carry fire in one hand and water in the other = To be two-faced and to stir up trouble
To bang one's head against a brick wall = To try to achieve the impossible
One foot shod, the other bare = Balance is paramount
The sow pulls the bung = Negligence will be rewarded with disaster
To bell the cat = To be indiscreet about plans that should be secret
To be armed to the teeth = To be heavily armed
To be an iron-biter = To be boastful/ indiscreet
One shears sheep, the other shears pigs = One has all the advantages, the other none
Shear them but do not skin them = Do not press your advantage too far
The herring does not fry here = Things do not go according to plan
To fry the whole herring for the sake of the roe = To do too much to achieve a little
To get the lid on the head = To end up taking responsibility
The herring hangs by its own gills = You must accept responsibility for your own actions
There is more in it than an empty herring = There is more to it than meets the eye
What can smoke do to iron? = There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable
To find the dog in the pot = To arrive too late to prevent trouble [2]
To sit between two stools in the ashes = To be indecisive
To be a hen feeler = To count one's chickens before they hatch
The scissors hang out there = They are liable to cheat you there
To always gnaw on a single bone = To continually talk about the same subject
It depends on the fall of the cards = It is up to chance
The world is turned upside down = Everything is the opposite of what it should be
Leave at least one egg in the nest = Always have something in reserve
To shit on the world = To despise everything
To lead each other by the nose = To fool each other
The die is cast = The decision is made
Fools get the best cards = Luck can overcome intelligence
To look through one's fingers = To be indulgent
There hangs the knife = To issue a challenge
There stand the wooden shoes = To wait in vain
To stick out the broom = To have fun while the master is away
To marry under the broomstick = To live together without marrying
To have the roof tiled with tarts = To be very wealthy
To have a hole in one's roof = To be unintelligent
An old roof needs a lot of patching up = Old things need more maintenance
The roof has lathes = There could be eavesdroppers (The walls have ears)
To have toothache behind the ears = To be a malingerer
To be pissing against the moon = To waste one's time on a futile endeavour
Here hangs the pot = It is the opposite of what it should be
To shoot a second bolt to find the first = To repeat a foolish action
To shave the fool without lather = To trick somebody
Two fools under one hood = Stupidity loves company
It grows out of the window = It cannot be concealed
To play on the pillory = To attract attention to one's shameful acts
Where the gate is open the pigs will run into the corn = Disaster ensues from carelessness
Where the corn decreases the pig increases = If one person gains then another must lose
To run like one's backside is on fire = To be in great distress
He who eats fire, shits sparks = Do not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous venture
To hang one's cloak according to the wind = To adapt one's viewpoint to the current opinion
To toss feathers in the wind = To work fruitlessly
To gaze at the stork = To waste one's time
To want to kill two flies with one stroke = To be efficient (equivalent to today's To kill two birds with one stone)
To fall from the ox onto the ass = To fall on hard times
To kiss the ring of the door = To be insincere
To wipe one's backside on the door = To treat something lightly
To go around shouldering a burden = To imagine that things are worse than they are
One beggar pities the other standing in front of the door
To fish behind the net = To miss an opportunity
Big fish eat little fish
To be unable to see the sun shine on the water = To be jealous of another's success
It hangs like a privy over a ditch = It is obvious
Anybody can see through an oak plank if there is a hole in it = There is no point in stating the obvious
They both shit through the same hole = They are in agreement
To throw one's money into the water = To waste one's money
A wall with cracks will soon collapse = Anything poorly managed will soon fail
To not care whose house is on fire as long as one can warm oneself at the blaze = To take every opportunity regardless of the consequences to others
To drag the block = To be deceived by a lover or to work at a pointless task
Fear makes the old woman trot = An unexpected event can reveal unknown qualities
Horse droppings are not figs = Do not be fooled by appearances
If the blind lead the blind both will fall in the ditch = There is no point in being guided by others who are equally ignorant
The journey is not yet over when one can discern the church and steeple = Do not give up until the task is fully complete
Everything, however finely spun, finally comes to the sun = Nothing can be hidden forever
To keep one's eye on the sail = To stay alert, be wary
To shit on the gallows = To be undeterred by any penalty
Where the carcass is, there fly the crows = If the evidence points to something it is likely to be true
It is easy to sail before the wind = If conditions are favourable it is not difficult to achieve one's goal
Who knows why geese go barefoot? = There is a reason for everything, though it may not be obvious
If I am not meant to be their keeper, I will let geese be geese = Do not interfere in matters that are not your concern
To see bears dancing[3] = To be starving
Wild bears prefer each other's company[3] = Peers get along better with each other than with outsiders
To throw one's cowl over the fence = To discard something without knowing whether it will be required later
It is ill to swim against the stream = It is difficult to oppose the general opinion
The pitcher goes to the water until it finally breaks = Everything has its limitations
The best straps are cut from somebody else's leather = Men cut the largest straps from other men's leather/It is easy to take from others work.
To hold an eel by the tail = To undertake a difficult task
To fall through the basket = To be rejected
To be suspended between heaven and earth = To be in an awkward situation
To take the hen's egg and let the goose's egg go = To make a bad decision
To yawn against the oven = To attempt more than one can manage
To be barely able to reach from one loaf to another = To have difficulty living within budget
A hoe without a handle = Probably something useless[4]
To look for the hatchet = To try to find an excuse
Here he is with his lantern = To finally have an opportunity to show a talent
A hatchet with a handle Probably signifies "the whole thing"[4]
He who has spilt his porridge cannot scrape it all up again = Once something is done it cannot be undone
To put a spoke in someone's wheel = To put up an obstacle, to destroy someone's plans
Love is on the side where the money bag hangs = Love can be bought
To pull to get the longest end = To attempt to get the advantage
To stand in one's own light = To be proud of oneself
No one looks for others in the oven who has not been in there himself = To imagine wickedness in others is a sign of wickedness in oneself
To have the world spinning on one's thumb = To have every advantage
To tie a flaxen beard to the face of Christ = To hide deceit under a veneer of Christian piety
To have to stoop to get on in the world = To succeed one must be devious
To cast roses before swine = To waste effort on the unworthy
To fill the well after the calf has drowned = To take action only after a disaster
To be as patient as a lamb = To be very patient
She puts the blue cloak on her husband = She deceives him
Watch out that a black dog does not come in between = When two women are together a barking dog is not needed to add to the trouble they will cause
One winds on the distaff what the other spins = Both spread gossip
To carry the day out in baskets = To waste one's time
To hold a candle to the Devil = To flatter and make friends indiscriminately
To confess to the Devil = To reveal secrets to one's enemy
The pig is stabbed through the belly = A foregone conclusion or what is done can not be undone
Two dogs over one bone seldom agree = To argue over a single point
To be a skimming ladle = To be a parasite or sponger
What is the good of a beautiful plate when there is nothing on it? = Beauty does not make up for substance
The fox and the crane entertain each other = Two deceivers always keep their own advantage in mind[5]
To blow in the ear = To spread gossip
To chalk up = To make sure to remember
The meat on the spit must be basted = Certain things need constant attention
There is no turning the spit with him = He is uncooperative
To sit on hot coals = To be impatient
To catch fish without a net = To profit from the work of others
[edit] Notes
^ From a list detailing the proverbs and meanings published by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and reproduced in Hagen pp.36-7.
^ The dirt on the painting makes it almost impossible to make out the dog here.
^ a b The exact proverb depicted is not known with certainty.
^ a b The exact meaning of the proverb is not known.
^ This is a reference to one of Aesop's Fables.
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