# The most common Mexican sayings (and what they mean)

The proverbs and sayings you hear most in Mexico, from the Mexican Academy of Language's proverb collection and press round-ups, with their meaning. Which one does your grandma always say?

- 16 votes · 19 items
- May 1, 2022 · soy_viajeroeterno
- https://even.best/en/l/348/the-most-common-mexican-sayings-and-what-they-mean

## Top 15

1. **A tiger's son comes out spotted** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Children take after their parents; like «a chip off the old block».
2. **People only go near the cactus when it has prickly pears** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — People only come around when there's something in it for them.
3. **He who is born to be a tamale gets the leaves falling from the sky** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — What is meant to be will be: life hands everyone what's meant for them.
4. **Better a pace that lasts than a trot that tires** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Better to move slowly and steadily than to rush and run out of steam.
5. **A parrot is green wherever it goes** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Someone who's good at something is good anywhere.
6. **What wasn't in your year can't hurt you** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Don't worry about what wasn't yours to live or isn't your business.
7. **He's like the dog with the two sandwiches** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Wanting two things at once, he ends up with neither.
8. **Hurry through the bad step** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Get unpleasant things done quickly and out of the way.
9. **With money, even the dog dances** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Money gets you almost anything.
10. **He who's meant to be a charro gets the hat falling from the sky** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — A variant of the tamale saying: what's meant for you will come to you.
11. **Better bad for being known than good for knowing** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Better to stay with what is already known, even if it is not perfect, than to take risks.
12. **The lazy and the stingy walk the road twice** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Doing things badly or halfway means doing them twice.
13. **Not so close that it burns the saint, nor so far it doesn't light him** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Don't overdo it and don't fall short: the middle ground.
14. **Let's get to it, it's mole de olla** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Let's get to work, there's a job to do.
15. **His paste got lumpy** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Everything got tangled up and he didn't know how to get out of it.
16. **A tree born crooked never straightens its trunk** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Lifelong bad habits are hard to fix.
17. **Everyone talks about the fair depending on how it went for them** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Everyone's opinion depends on their own experience.
18. **I know you, mosquito** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — I know very well what your intentions are, you are not deceiving me.
19. **Each monkey to its own rope** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Each one to his own and in his place, without interfering in the affairs of others.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.