Quote:
Originally Posted by Gudy
The meaning of this proverb relies heavily on tone of voice and the relationship between speaker and subject.
When used about an outsider, especially in a derogatory fashion, HarryT's suggested English equivalents of "a bad penny always turns up again", or "the Devil looks after his own" come quite close to the German meaning. The situation changes completely when the subject is part of the speaker's in-group (the "us", not the "them", in any given "us vs. them"): in this case, the meaning is a slightly self-deprecating "we may not be the prettiest blooming flowers, but we're resilient and we'll get through this - and anything else -somehow"). And I believe it is this consolatory sense that Elizabeth von Arnim is referring to.
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Thanks, Gudy, that's useful to know. I've only ever heard the expression used in a derogatory sense. Proverbs are always difficult to translate!