Proverbs of Ravenloft

[cure]

One of the strengths of Planescape was an attempt to create a lingo unique to it. In that spirit then, here are some proposed translations of common proverbs into their Ravenloft equivilents:

Russian Roulette
= Drinking with Borcans (Core ex-Borca)
= Dancing with Vistani (Borca)
Robbing Peter to pay Paul
= Robbing Ivana to pay Ivan (Borca)
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
= All gloom and no love makes Soth a dull knight (Sithicus, Kartakass)
Rain, rain go away, come again another day
= Knight, knight, go away, come again another day (Sithicus, Kartakass)
Better safe than sorry
= Better a barred door than a nailed box (Barovia, Darkon)
= Better a barred door than a chained box (Souragne)
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
= Few can wield a sword; all can bar a door (Southern Core)
A stitch in time saves nine
= A fire in time saves nine (Tepest)
When Hell freezes over
= When Zhakata is sated (Core, older generation)
= When the Relentless is sold for scrap (Sea of Sorrows)
= When Lamordians believe (Northwestern Core ex Lamordia)
= When Malken's caught (Nova Vassa)
= When the last wolf dies (Kartakass, Verbrek)
= When the music stops (Kartakass)
= When we dance no more (Vistani)
A doubting Thomas
= A Lamordian professor (Western Core)
Don't count your chickens before they hatch
= Don't declare your love before the dawn (Barovia)
Give them an inch and they will take a yard
= Give them a drop of blood and they will rip out your soul (Southern Core)
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
= A pray a day keeps the dead away (Darkon, Mordent)
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
= Don't disparage the dawn (Barovia, Darkon)
A wolf in sheeps clothes
= A man in wolf's fur (Kartakass)
A rolling stone gathers no moss
= A Vistana makes no friends (All domains)
Don't tempt the Devil
= Don't tempt the dead (Darkon)
Between the Devil and the deep blue sea
= Between salt & Salt-Biter (Saragossa)
= Between Strahd and the choking mists (Barovia)
= Between Ivan and Ivana (Borca)
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush
= A Talon in hand is better than two at the door (girls Falkovnia)
It's not over until the fat lady sings
= There's still hope till Grandfather Wolf coos (Kartakass)
A snowball's chance in Hell
= A Talon's hope in Darkon (Northwestern Core)
= A cripple's hope in Verbrek (Southwestern Core)
No good deed goes unpunished
= A cat's wages (Richemulot)
= A Paladin's wages (Core ex Richemulot)
Up the creek without a paddle
= In the mists without a Vistana (all non arid domains)
= In the mists without an anchorite (Western Core)
= In the swamp without a Voodan (Souragne)
A face that only a mother could love
= A face that only a Lamordian could create (Northern Core ex Lamordia)
A penny for your thoughts
= A copper for your brains (Lamordia)
To sell someone the Brooklyn Bridge
= To sell someone a cemetery in Necropolis (Darkon)
To bite off more than you can chew
= To invite hags to dinner (Tepest, Nova Vassa)
= To tell fortunes to Vistani (All domains)
Like a bat out of Hell
= Like a Vistana out of Invidia (Southwestern Core)
= Like a Halfling out of Falkovnia (Western Core)
Put the fear of God into him
= Put the Mists before his eyes (all non arid domains)
Spare the rod and spoil the child
= Spare the whip and spoil the welp (Hazlan, Nova Vassa)
A fool and his money are soon parted
= A fool and his shadow are soon parted (Tepest)
= A fool and his soul are soon parted (Darkon, Souragne)
= A fool and his spirit are soon parted (Mordent)
= A fool and his heart are soon parted (Sebua)
= A fool and his life-blood are soon parted (Barovia)
= A fool and his flesh are soon parted (Kartakass, Verbrek)
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink
= You can walk the dead to water but you can't make them clean (Souragne)
= You can lead a vampire to the Luna but you can't make him swim (Barovia)
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
= Absence blackens the heart (Barovia, Richemulot)
Easier said than done
=Easier thought than done (Bluetspur)
B oys will be boys
= Wolves will be wolves (Kartakass)
= Rats will be rats (Richemulot)
= Cats will be cats (Valachan)
Curiosity killed the cat
= Curiosity killed the rat (Southeast Falkovnia)
When the cat's away the mice will play
= When the cat's away the Valachans will play (Southwestern Core)
A good cat, a good rat
= A good rat, a dead cat (Richemulot)
Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you
= Do unto others as they would do unto you (Invidia)
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
= Don't put all your brains in one vat (Lamordia)
Fear of death is worse than death itself
= Fear of death is but a foretaste (Barovia)
Fools rush in where angels fear to tred
= Fools rush in where anchorites fear to tred (Mordent)
= Fools rush in where Vistani fear to tred (all domains)
Good fences make good neighbours
= Good chains make good slaves (Falkovnia)
= Good fires make good friends (Tepest)
Death is the great leveller
= In death a man rises to his level (Necropolis)
Every bird loves to sing to himself
= Every wolf loves to coo himself to sleep (Kartakass)
A house divided cannot stand
= A mind divided cannot rule (Nova Vassa)
Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open
= Keep your mouth shut and your eyes in your skull (Balustein)
Let sleeping dogs lie
= Let sleeping beasts lie (Lamordia)
= Let the dead lie (Barovia, Darkon, Mordent)
Like father, like son
= Like creator, like creation (Lamordia)
= Like master, like slave (Falkovnia)
= Like debtee, like debter (Borca)
Live and let live
= Live and let die (G'Henna)
Money is the root of all evil
= Love is the root of all evil (Barovia, Lamordia)
Nothing is certain but death and taxes
= Count on nothing, the dead pay no taxes (Barovia, Darkon, Mordent, Souragne)
Old habits die hard
= Old habits don't die (Barovia, Darkon, Mordent, Souragne)
Out of sight, out of mind
= Out of sight, out of existence (Nightmare Lands)
The early bird catches the worm
= The early man catches his death (Darkon)
The pot calls the kettle black
= The zombie calls the swamp foul (Souragne)
There is more than one way to skin a cat
= There is more than one way to skin a man (Verbrek)
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
= The quality of the man is in the tasting (Kartakass)
From the mouth of babes
=From the mouth of giorgios (The Vistani)
It's not a party until something gets broken
=It's not a party until someone gets eaten (Kartakass, Richemulot)

[brothersale]

i can think of one other phase, all be it not one that exists in the real world but one that has appeared in the ravenloft novels:

Someday = used as a farewell by the Gundarakites. It is a unsaid sentence, one in it full form is: Someday, we will be free

[Joël of the FoS]

This is a fun idea. It would be good to expand what ideas are already there for other domains.

Joël

[Big Bad Jack]

Drinking with Borcans

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Blessings upon this... *insert word here like home/person/etc) = Halite saying to wish someone or something wellwishes, also a general greeting among the religion when entering a home (Blessings upon this house/shack/hut/etc) (core).
The chill = less formal term for the Zillinya Neshka (Vorostokov)
Harvest time = Talon term for routing out rebels (Falkovnia)
Keep your trap shut = to bribe a hangman (real world term)

Okay, I'm out of ideas for now