Glossary entry

Italian term or phrase:

Pancia piena canta e non camicia bianca

English translation:

A piece of bread in one’s pocket is better than a feather in one’s hat. –Sweden

Added to glossary by Lisa Jane
Feb 12, 2017 16:27
7 yrs ago
Italian term

Pancia piena canta e non camicia bianca

Italian to English Art/Literary Folklore
sito web, città di Miglierina (Calabria). Ci sono alcuni proverbi calabresi all'interno del sito. Questo è presente nella sezione Agricoltura e gusto

AGRICOLTURA E GUSTO

"Pancia piena canta e non camicia bianca"

È una terra ricca e generosa quella di Miglierina, che dona prodotti genuini ai suoi ospiti.
Change log

Feb 19, 2017 16:05: Lisa Jane Created KOG entry

Feb 19, 2017 16:05: Lisa Jane Created KOG entry

Discussion

Rachel Fell Feb 12, 2017:
Sounds like eating well is more important/worthwhile than a smart appearance
JohnMcDove Feb 12, 2017:
"Work before play" or the opposite, "Pleasure first and business after", would be a somewhat "serious" version. In this case, "work" would imply "full stomach" thus "pleasure" and the luxury of buying a shirt, would be some unnecessary and superfluous deal.
Patrick Hopkins Feb 12, 2017:
None of the Italian explanations I've seen for this proverb make any mention of office or land or type of work in general. It's simply saying "first things first"
Wendy Streitparth Feb 12, 2017:
Could it not be understood to mean that someone working on the land is far happier than someone working in an office? That would be my take.
Patrick Hopkins Feb 12, 2017:
Literal translation: Full stomach sings (is good) and not a white shirt

In other words (as per ref below):

Better to buy food to eat than a new shirt and not eat at all

See

http://aforismi.meglio.it/proverbio.htm?id=fd0f

Proposed translations

+1
56 mins
Selected

A piece of bread in one’s pocket is better than a feather in one’s hat. –Sweden

I found this Swedish proverb which says more or less the same thing: it's better to spend your money on food than on fancy clothes

A piece of bread in one’s pocket is better than a feather in one’s hat

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Note added at 58 mins (2017-02-12 17:26:18 GMT)
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http://www.special-dictionary.com/proverbs/source/s/swedish_...
Peer comment(s):

agree JohnMcDove : Yes, I think this is the basic idea. :-)
1 hr
Thanks John!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
2 hrs

Full stomach, contented heart/When the stomach is full, the heart is glad / A happy man has no shirt


I give you a couple of (old) sayings that could also convey the idea...

When the stomach is full, the heart is glad. (Mieder1992 p. 564)

https://books.google.com/books?id=AbJ1tVGmiTgC&pg=PA483&lpg=...


And as most of us know, happiness doesn't come from being rich (you have heard that a happy man has no shirt on his back), nor does happiness come from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. But the real way to get happiness is by giving happiness to other people.
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...

Of course, this is going into a bit of (maybe unduly free) interpretation, but these sayings could convey the original idea, or may inspire other proZ.comleagues to remember some more exact maxim.




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Note added at 3 hrs (2017-02-12 19:28:36 GMT)
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Hey, what about this one,

A fine CAGE won't feed a hungry bird.
F. La belle cage ne nourrit pas l'oiseau.
I. La bella gabbia non nutrisce l'uccello.

https://books.google.com/books?id=hOOkCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT56&lpg=P...

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Note added at 8 hrs (2017-02-13 00:49:05 GMT)
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"When the belly is full the mind is among the maids"

That's how they translated it here.
https://books.google.com/books?id=hOOkCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT56&lpg=P...
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