It was the funniest joke that one heard this women’s week. As with most of these under-30 seconds videos that people like to share on messaging platforms, there was no context – and I doubt if it would have made a difference.
This queen donning a doek and a beautiful Basotho blanket, flanked by others – both men and women wearing equally stunning blankets – is narrating to a reporter that the women were singing “wathandi abafazi, wathandi umgomono”!
Oh, such bastardisation of what has become the battle cry of women in South Africa – “wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo” (you strike a woman, you strike a stone).
It made my day as I reflected on how we struggle with idioms and sayings from different languages. I have often said “tshwene ga e ipone makobo” instead of “makopo”, a Sepedi idiom that means it is hard for one to notice one’s mistakes.
And English is riddled with tricky idioms, especially given our tough socio-economic situation. Is it not time to update some of these expressions to bring them in line with our unique circumstances?
When last did you hear: “I need this job, it is my bread and butter”? Wouldn’t “it is my mealie meal” have more gravitas, given that mealie meal can be served as porridge for breakfast, mageu for lunch and pap for supper?
Things are so bleak that the old saying “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” needs to be scrapped. A more appropriate saying would be “don’t count your eggs before you get them”.
Spaza shops, you know the kind that operate from a tiny hole in the wall that is just big enough to pass 1kg of sugar, sell single eggs. It is not uncommon to get your half dozen in a plastic packet usually used for veggies.
It is, therefore, advisable to count the eggs once they are safely home on your table, especially if you have sent an energetic youngster whose last concern is the fragility of the goods purchased.
Don’t get me started on the expression about stick and stones … With the power abuse we have been enduring from Eskom, the new saying should be “sticks and stones make a fire”.
And all of that stuff about “food for the soul” can wait, the only food South Africans are interested in is soul food, even our artists, who are responsible for giving us food for the soul, are crying for some soul food.
And are two heads really better than one when considering the two mouths to feed as well?
How about we start saying better safe and sorry than the saying “better safe than sorry” because in South Africa being safe is not enough, you better be sorry too.
Imagine having to explain why you forgot to lock your door or being home by 6pm when you actually knock off at 8pm!
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