ProverbChallenge
Russian origin
Russian originГоль на выдумки хитра (Gol' na vydumki khitra)
Meaning: The poor are inventive because they have to be.
Literally: The poor are clever at inventing
Example: “Из старых шин сделали качели для детей. Голь на выдумки хитра.” — They made swings for the children out of old tires: necessity is the mother of invention.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 4 more languages
English: Necessity is the mother of invention
French: Nécessité est mère d'invention (literally: Necessity is the mother of invention)
Spanish: La necesidad es la madre de la invención (literally: Necessity is the mother of invention)
Japanese: 必要は発明の母 (Hitsuyō wa hatsumei no haha) (literally: Necessity is the mother of invention)
German: Not macht erfinderisch (literally: Need makes one inventive)
Italian: La necessità aguzza l'ingegno (literally: Necessity sharpens the wits)
Portuguese: A necessidade aguça o engenho (literally: Necessity sharpens the wits)
Dutch: De nood maakt vindingrijk (literally: Need makes one inventive)
Polish: Potrzeba matką wynalazków (literally: Need is the mother of inventions)
Origin: Голь, the poor, the have-nots, are cunning at inventions: necessity sharpens their wits.
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Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
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