Fake Friend (William Baddoo)

Title: Fake Friend (William Baddoo)

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Professor Monetti is a Senior Lecturer of Spanish in the Spanish and Portuguese department at Dartmouth College. She is was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Professor Monetti got her bachelors from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. She came to the United States in the mid 2000s for graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis.

Contextual Data:

Professor Monetti was told this proverb by her father when she was in primary school. At the time she had just moved to a different school and was having trouble adjusting. Some of her new friends were not the best people. Her Father wanted her to be more careful in the friends she chose.
Professor Monetti said that the proverb is about the dangers someone who betrays your trust can do to you. In life there are people who can seem like they are genuine and care about but are putting on a facade. This especially true when you are young and there is a lot of pressure to make friends and fit. These are the types of people who may then say things about you or reveal information to others that you believed would remain private. It hurts a lot to have someone who you are comfortable being honest with betray. One silver lining is that having to deal with bad friends makes you appreciate those who are genuinely kindhearted and have your best interest in mind.

Item:

La lengua que pertenece a un amigo falso es más afilada que un cuchillo.
Translation: The tongue that belongs to a fake friend is sharper than a knife.

Informant’s Comments:

Collector’s Comments:

The proverb is two part, using comparison Pain caused by a person pretending to be your friend and can hurt more than physical damage. There is common theme this proverb has which is that people should avoid bad friends. It was told to the informant by a parent, which also is a common theme.

Collector’s Name: William Baddoo

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive