Tâi-oân Chè-chō

A prophet is without honor only in his hometown

oconnorme — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:12:50 +0000

Sian-ti tī ka-kī ê kò͘-hiong bē siū lâng hoan-gêng

Make haste slowly; haste makes waste

oconnorme — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:09:49 +0000

Kín sū khoaⁿ pān

Literally: “Take care of pressing matters slowly.”

Like father, like son

oconnorme — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:54:54 +0000

Or, “the apple never falls far from the tree:”

Liông seⁿ liông-chú, hó· seⁿ pa-jî

Literally: A dragon gives birth to a dragon-child, a tiger gives birth to a panther-child.

Like a Thanksgiving Turkey

oconnorme — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:44:03 +0000

I.e. doesn’t know it’s about to die / get hurt / get into trouble

Chhit-go̍eh-pòaⁿ ah-á, m̄ chai sí o̍ah.

Literally: “The middle-of-July duck doesn’t know death or life.”

The seventh month of the lunar year is Ghost Month, and Taiwanese people slaughter many ducks during the month to offer to the spirits.

(Bumped from August…seemed appropriate)

For want of a nail the shoe was lost

oconnorme — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:03:09 +0000

It sit chiok sêng chhian-kó͘ hīn

Literally: One slip of the foot becomes a lasting regret.

But for which country?

oconnorme — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:53:35 +0000

Cartoons do not reflect the views of the blogger or his employer.

————————————————————

Bí-kok Siáu-gû ê būn-tê, lán ài siong-sìn Má Chóng-thóng.

Sin-ûi Chóng-thóng, tong-jiân it-tēng ē ūi ka-kī ê kok-ka siat-sióng ah!

Tio̍h ah! Chóng-thóng tong-jiân ē ūi ka-kī ê kok-ka siat-sióng ah!

Cho̍at bô gî-būn…

Chóng-thóng ka-kī ê kok-ka? Tó chi̍t kok? Tâi-ôan-kok? Tiong-kok? Bí-kok?…

————————————————————

On the US Mad Cow problem, we should believe President Ma.

As President, he naturally has to have the interests of his own country at heart.

Right! The President naturally has the interests of his own country at heart.

Without a doubt…

The President’s own country? Which country? Taiwan? China? America?…

A bird in hand…; the greedy dog loses his bone

oconnorme — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:11:33 +0000

Lia̍h kú cháu pih

Literally: have a turtle in hand (but) run after a terrapin.

Lobby (v.)

oconnorme — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:40:25 +0000

iû-soeh, iû-seh

Example:

Iû-soeh koaⁿ-gôan chiong Tâi-ôan lâu — lo̍h-lâi.

Lobby high officials to retain (control of) Taiwan.

Take a cursory look; examine (too) quickly

oconnorme — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:24:06 +0000

Cháu bé khòaⁿ hoe

Literally: “look at the flowers (while) riding a horse”

Crocodile tears

oconnorme — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:19:07 +0000

The̍h kiuⁿ-bú, chhit ba̍k-sái — ké khàu

Literally: “Take a piece of ginger and rub one’s eyes (with it): false tears”

This is another example of a kek-kut-ōe.