The debts of friendship are paid

Question

HelloCan you help me to realize the meaning of this:we must eat quite a few bushels of salt together before the debts of friendship are paid.In this sentence, what is the meaning of before the debts of friendship are paid?Does it mean before we break up with our friend, or something else?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

anonymousbefore the debts of friendship are paid.

Suppose you and Hamid are good friends. Hamid has a car. You do not have a car. Hamid takes you to work every day in his car and after work, he picks you up. It is out of his way, and he has to leave earlier, but he does this because of your friendship.

You have a debt of friendship with Hamid. You owe him a lot of favors. Perhaps one day you will repay this debt. Maybe you will earn a lot more money and pay for his son's education. Maybe you will help his sister realize her dream of emigrating to the UK.

anonymouswe must eat quite a few bushels of salt together

"Eat salt with" is an old (outdated) British expression.

It means to share a meal with someone. Also at this time, you will have a conversation and get to know the person better.

In each meal, there is a very small amount of salt, so it takes thousands of meals before the salt adds up to be a bushel!

But spending time and knowing someone means that you know their heart, their desires, their hopes and their fears. Knowing this, you can repay the debt of friendship, because you know exactly what they need or want most.

The debts of friendship are paid

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