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Sunnychen Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
Pigs may whistle
Pigs may whistle, but they hae an ill mouth for't.
What's the meaning of this proverb?
What's the meaning of this proverb?
Top answer
Pigs may whistle, but they hae an ill mouth for ’t. (Scottish proverb). Applied to people who take responsibilities and attempt to do things far beyond their ability.
- Pigs may whistle, but they hae an ill mouth for ’t.
- (Scottish proverb).
- Applied to people who take responsibilities and attempt to do things far beyond their ability.
- com) In standard English 'hae' is 'have' and 'for't' is 'for it'.
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3 Answers
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In standard English 'hae' is 'have' and 'for't' is 'for it'.
Pigs may whistle, but they hae an ill mouth for ’t. (Scottish proverb).
Applied to people who take responsibilities and attempt to do things far beyond their ability. (Bartleby.com)
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I'm still a little confused about the literal meaning of the proverb. Because I'm trying to translate this proverb, I want to know why people say such a proverb to refer to those "who take responsibilities and attempt to do things far beyond their ability." Can you illustrate a little bit? Thank you very much.
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It's not a well-known proverb, and the meaning is not immediately obvious. I had to research it before finding the answer I gave.
A more common idiom referring to such people is that 'they have bitten off more than they can chew'.
A more common idiom referring to such people is that 'they have bitten off more than they can chew'.
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