Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Proverbs 145. The proverb today is a closed mouth catches no flies. Okay. This is kind of interesting because this the first time I've ever come across this where , I found a proverb that seems to have two different meanings. And the meanings are very different between both of them. All right. Let's look at the first one. The first meaning might be the more common one. It says the first meaning of this proverb is that it is better to keep silent than to say something that might get you in trouble. So , so basically keep your mouth shut or keep quiet or you might say the wrong thing and you might get into trouble. Yeah. This one, it's hard to pinpoint and find an exact citing of when the first time this is mentioned. We do find out later that ... maybe I'll cover this part now. The proverb is also a quote from Cervantes in "Don Quixote. So it did come out in "Don Quixote" so it's at least that old, but this one is a little harder to find you know the story behind it. But you could probably put it together. A closed mouth. Meaning if you keep your mouth closed mmm you know and the Flies probably represent trouble. The trouble can't get in. So you think about it that way or maybe possibly. I don't know if you're speaking you know, what a fly is attracted to they're attracted to garbage and they are attracted to poo poo. So maybe if you're speaking you know you had that come out of your mouth oh the fly might get in and well that might cause you a problem. Okay. Let's look at the second one though. However oddly, there is a second use and meaning for this, this same proverb. The second meaning is to be alert and grab any good opportunities one encounters in life. Okay I kind of like the story behind this one better. This one I think tends to be more European. I found that it's like an Italian proverb and a French proverb and a Spanish proverb. I think the other one comes a little bit more out of England. But really they both have worked their way into English. So you might find uses of both of these. Here's the story behind the second one. This alludes to the idea of a frog that must keep its mouth partly open, so it could quickly roll out a tongue ( sounds of a tongue rolling out ) You see that. You see him catch fly sometimes. To catch flies go by. If its mouth were closed it would miss the opportunity. So, so, so again you got two meanings. One is to telling you to keep quiet because you might get yourself in trouble by saying the wrong thing. The other one is probably encouraging you to keep your mouth open like a frog and be ready and be alert and grab the opportunity when it goes by. Okay. Good. So like I said ... we know definitely that it was been around since at least Don Quixote because it is of course it was in Spanish when it was originally written by Don Quixote. But it's definitely if you look up Don Quixote's quotes. It's there He did say this. Although it's possible it could predate him. I'm not sure if he's the one that coined it or not. But anyway I give a few examples of the way we might hear it both ways. All right . The first two, I think I'm more like the one about keeping quiet. So let's look at a number one here. My lawyer advised me not to say anything without his confirmation first. Like don't say anything unless I tell you it's okay to say it.And then he said a closed mouth catches no flies. So be careful this way you know, if you say something it may come back to hurt you or may come back to haunt you. So this one covers the first one perfectly. Let's look at number two here. If the police ask any questions remember a closed mouth catches no flies. Yes. Yeah, so if the police ask any questions basically don't say anything. Keep your mouth shut. because you might say the wrong thing and maybe you'll get yourself into trouble. So a closed mouth catches no flies. All right and of course the third one here. My financial advisor told me now is the time to buy. He said don't wait , remember a closed mouth catches no flies. Now of course this is the second one. You know, be alert. Watch out. Grab any opportunity grab a good opportunity when you see it. Don't hesitate you know. So the the last example here is more for the second one I gave you. Like the Frog that's waiting for a good opportunity to catch a real fly. Okay. Anyway, I hope you got it. I hope it was informative. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for your time. Bye-bye.
A2 US mouth proverb closed quixote trouble frog English Tutor Nick P Proverbs (146) A Cliosed Mouth Catches No Flies 25 0 anitawu12 posted on 2019/08/14 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary