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Corsican Proverbs


Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the Italian island of Sardinia. Mountains make up two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain.

Corsica is one of the 27 regions of France, although it is designated as a territorial collectivity by law. As a territorial collectivity, Corsica enjoys some greater powers than other French regions but is referred to as a region in common speech and is almost always listed among them. Although the island is separated from the continental mainland by the Ligurian Sea and is closer to the Italian mainland than to the French mainland, politically Corsica is part of Metropolitan France.

The island formed a single department until it was split in 1975 into two Upper CorsicaSouthern Corsica, with its regional capital in Ajaccio, the prefecture city of Corse-du-Sud. Bastia, the prefecture city of Haute-Corse, is the second-largest settlement in Corsica.

Visit Wikipedia page on Corsica For further readings.

The native Corsican language, whose northern variant is closely related with Tuscan, is recognised as a regional language by the French government. This Mediterranean island was ruled by various nations over the course of history but had several brief periods of independence. Today, Corsica is a department of France.

The French emperor Napoléon was born in 1769 in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. His ancestral home, Casa Buonaparte, is today used as a museum.


Sayings of Corsican origin

There’s no substitute for experience.

When the dog is old, the fox pisses on him.

Beauty fades quickly.

Once the tree has fallen everyone gets their axe out.

The dead make room for the living.

When the pear is ripe it will drop.

Little children, little worries. Big children, big worries.

There’s no shame in being poor.

Eat your soup or jump out of the window .

He, who differs, ends up losing.

Laugh too much on Friday, cry on Sunday.

Every bed has fleas.

The full don’t believe the hungry.

Don’t cross yourself before seeing the Devil.

Flaunt it while it lasts.

The habit doesn’t make the priest.

Who has the finest thread makes the finest fabric.

Clear contracts make dear friends.

What is eaten is not wasted.

Make a virtue out of necessity.

Courage cannot be bought at the inn.

Better the head of a village than the tail of a town.

Seize the offer.

You can’t squeeze blood from stones .

Until death we live.

We’re always on time for death.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

Everyone tries to make the water flow to his mill.

White bread and ripe figs – long may it last!

Whether eating or scratching, the main thing is to start.

The world is beautiful if you know how to look at it.

In the good years think of the bad years.

When I make hats, the men are born without heads.

Seamen learn to get to know each other during a storm.

Love is blind.

Hope is first- born and last to die.

The worst kind of dog is the one who does not want to bite.

The barrel can only yield the wine that’s in it.

Better to be poor and honorable than rich and shameful.

Don’t worry about misfortunes that haven’t happened.

You can find your mouth even in the dark.

Where there is a rooster the chicken will not crow.

Wash your dirty laundry in the family.

The dog barks, the pig eats.

Old saucepans make good soup.

No one can claim they’ll be here tomorrow.

Eat, drink and be merry.

Who has money can do everything.

The dew won’t fill the tank.

Night is the mother of advice.

If it’s not your time, you won’t be born and you won’t die.

A little is quite a lot for those who need it.

Every source flows to the sea.

Youth! Youth! Once and never again!

There’s no meat without bones.

Things go badly when everyone’s in charge.

A bad bush is better than no shelter.

Who loves you makes you cry, who doesn’t makes you laugh.

A pound’s worth of tears will not settle a penny’s worth of debt.

Tooth gone, pain gone .

The song is bad if the instruments are out of tune.

The world is like a ladder, some go up and others come down.

The more you take and don’t replace the more the barrel will sing.

If you want to stay at home, don’t go out.

Don’t step beyond your stride .

There is no love without jealousy.

Everyone leans on the leaning fig tree.

When the cat’s away, the rats dance.

He who is born a mule can never be a horse.

An old barrel gives good wine.

It is better to be alone than to be in bad company.

One devil replaces another.

Where does money go? Where there’s the most!

The tongue is boneless, but can break bones.

Eat to your taste but dress to others’ taste.

There’s no virtue in being born rich.

A man without a woman is a tree without leaves and branches.

Who has no money has no desires.

When I was young, the parents were in change, but now the children are in charge.

Sweep the lobby so that visitors will think the rest is also clean.

A clear path never seems long

Each finds a shoe for their foot.

The world is an ocean of tears.

All that is born must die.

You can’t make omelets without breaking eggs.

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the Italian island of Sardinia. Mountains make up two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain.

Corsica is one of the 27 regions of France, although it is designated as a territorial collectivity by law. As a territorial collectivity, Corsica enjoys some greater powers than other French regions but is referred to as a region in common speech and is almost always listed among them. Although the island is separated from the continental mainland by the Ligurian Sea and is closer to the Italian mainland than to the French mainland, politically Corsica is part of Metropolitan France.

The island formed a single department until it was split in 1975 into two Upper CorsicaSouthern Corsica, with its regional capital in Ajaccio, the prefecture city of Corse-du-Sud. Bastia, the prefecture city of Haute-Corse, is the second-largest settlement in Corsica.

Visit Wikipedia page on Corsica For further readings.

The native Corsican language, whose northern variant is closely related with Tuscan, is recognised as a regional language by the French government. This Mediterranean island was ruled by various nations over the course of history but had several brief periods of independence. Today, Corsica is a department of France.

The French emperor Napoléon was born in 1769 in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. His ancestral home, Casa Buonaparte, is today used as a museum.