Proverbs

[Koontz John E]

On Tue, 18 Dec 2001, Pamela Munro wrote:
> I think (as probably most of you do too) you can have obscure metaphors
> without proverbs. For instance, in Chickasaw (sorry; I venture a bit outside
> Siouan) when you see a certain type of cloud / sky formation you can say,
> "Satan is beating his wife." (Sorry; this is not a family show.) I would not
> call this a proverb. However, I think it's clearly obscure / metaphorical.

I agree.  Perhaps what is missing here is the admonition or advisory
quality, which is what I meant by saying that "Live free or die!" is a
better proverb than "Give me liberty or give me death!"  Not that I'm sure
it qualifies as a proverb, but I think the issue there might be the lack
of metaphor or even generalized obscurity.