ProverbHuman Nature
Portuguese origin
Portuguese originQuem não tem cão caça com gato
Meaning: If you don't have the ideal means, you make do with what you have.
Literally: Whoever has no dog hunts with a cat
Example: “Não havia farinha, por isso fiz o bolo com aveia. Quem não tem cão caça com gato.” — There was no flour, so I made the cake with oats: beggars can't be choosers.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and 3 more languages
English: Beggars can't be choosers
French: Faute de grives, on mange des merles (literally: For lack of thrushes, one eats blackbirds)
Spanish: A caballo regalado no se le mira el diente (literally: Don't look at the teeth of a gifted horse)
German: In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen (literally: In times of need, the devil eats flies)
Russian: Не до жиру, быть бы живу (Ne do zhiru, byt' by zhivu) (literally: Never mind fat, as long as we stay alive)
Polish: Na bezrybiu i rak ryba (literally: When there are no fish, a crayfish is a fish)
Chinese: 饥不择食 (Jī bù zé shí) (literally: The hungry don't pick their food)
Turkish: Dilenciye hıyar vermişler de eğri diye beğenmemiş (literally: They gave the beggar a cucumber and he turned it down for being crooked)
Origin: A popular explanation, not confirmed, says the older form was caça como gato, "hunts like a cat," alone and by stealth, and that como was later heard as com.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- A aranha arranha a rã. A rã arranha a aranha. Contrasts the soft single r of aranha against the hard rolled rr of arranha — one letter…
- O rato roeu a roupa do rei de Roma; a rainha com raiva roeu o resto. An unstoppable 'r' trill drill — every key word begins or ends with the Portuguese r.
- Um tigre, dois tigres, três tigres tristes triscam trigo num trigal. A 'tr' cluster drill that adds a sad adjective to make the alliteration worse.
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