APAD: Don't try to teach your Grandma to suck eggs

Meaning:

   Don't offer advice to someone who has more experience than oneself.

 

Background:

   These days this proverbial saying has little impact as few people have any

   direct experience of sucking eggs - grandmothers included. It is quite an old

   phrase and is included in John Stevens' translation of Quevedo's Comical

   Works, 1707:

     "You would have me teach my Grandame to suck Eggs."

 

   There are few grannies left who really do suck eggs.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

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Many Chinese grannies are still capable, I am sure. Sucking eggs was nothing

magic and required only attention and basic motor skills, both plenty back in

the days of material shortage.

 

I head to the weather-beaten wicker basket half-covered with a faded straw hat

on the window ledge and peek in with bated breath. Often at least one egg lies

at the bottom of the nest, a bed of wheat stalks. Sometimes the place is taken:

a hen has snugged down there and an egg's on its way. She does not budge but

shoots me an annoyed look as if saying "I'll let you know."

 

I hold an egg upright, not too tight, with the fat end on top, aim the tip of a

chopstick, and a few jabs are all it takes to break through the shell. Next,

it's easy just to unpend the oval globe and let gravity do its work helped by

some mouth muscles through the opening which can always be enlarged when needed.

The white tastes slightly salty and the yolk exquisite.

 

Muscle memory lasts a lifetime and old habits die hard. Chinese grandmas not

distracted by Pokemon, Fruit Ninja, or Angry Birds should do fine sucking eggs.

Haha,teach the old dog new tricks:)Wow,you know how!

raw eggs? never had one. guess can never b a grandma ;-))

"go suck an egg" == "an expression of anger or scorn" ;-)

per Oxford Dictionary ;-))

Necessity teaches. Nothing to brag about :-)

It's never too late to try!

It's good to know. Thanks!

I do still want to live. so thx but no thx. ;-))

OK. So it's now common sense that sucking eggs will kill you

it's "not so common" part of common sense, per GoogleAI ;)

班门弄斧

Guess similar 2 selling writing to Confucius (孔府卖文：-))

Both close but still different from the proverb. 翻译不易啊!

是啊，使劲儿敲敲我的笨脑袋 ；-））（好像是有高人只是现在不能/没有说话；-）

原句是指年龄大经历多，更像老人们常说的：我吃的盐比你吃的米都多。

Confucius not old&been through enough?;-)))) just kidding.

Good point but he was known more for his teachings.

just as 鲁班 for his carpentry and construction, not mere age.

oh, got it. how about "敬老尊贤" （汉·刘向《说苑·修文》)? ;-)) see below

百度百科说：

"(敬老尊贤) 意思是尊敬年纪大的或品德高尚、才能出众的人。”

出自汉·刘向《说苑·修文》：“入其境，土地辟除，敬老尊贤，则有庆，益其地。”

 

very vivid description, I learn a few new words.

I sucked eggs before when we had a few hen.

不尚贤，使民不争。No extra respect for being old itself.

Thanks. You're ready for grandmotherhood! :-))

got it the 2nd time ;-)). a good one! Thx.