[gingerpale]

I read somewhere sometime that this was an "old French saying"--

"If men knew what women do when they're alone, they wouldn't marry them."

I've always taken that to mean that some men find some women's free-time pursuits frivolous/ridiculous in the extreme. (Crafts, décor, fashion, canape-type food, etc.)

So I'd like to know--is this really an old French proverb ? Maybe it is mistranslated?
And what do you think it means?

Also-- "If a man and woman are not more than friends, they will be less."
This one I think I get, and tend to agree with.

[minty]

never heard those...although it sounds like Sacha Guitry ...do you have them in French ?

[gingerpale]

I just looked up Sacha Guitry-- a list of his quotes *are* similar in style, you're certainly right.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sacha_Guitry

[Griffin]

ginger,

There's no use asking minty, she's young, you need an old French person for their sayings. Minty would be best for Young and Beautiful French Sayings!
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Confusion comes fitted as standard.

[minty]

Well , Griffin, I don't quite know how to take that ...do you imply that because I'm young - not that young, actually - and beutiful -thank you for the compliment- I must be empty-headed and illiterate as well ?

Actually the second quote is by the Countess of Blessington, who, although she died in Paris, in Scottish by birth...

" L'amitié est impossible entre femme et homme : s'il est plus qu'un ami, elle devient moins qu'une amie. "

I quite like this one too, by the French author Balzac :
" On n'est point l'ami d'une femme lorsqu'on peut être son amant. "
"You are not a woman's friend when you can be her lover"


An old French saying is :

« ce que femme veut, Dieu le veut « (what a woman wants, God wants it too.)

and a famous quote by a famous French writer :

« L’avenir de l’homme, c’est la femme » Louis Aragon
"Man's future is the woman"

and by an Irish one :

On peut beaucoup plus largement se passer des hommes que des femmes, c'est pourquoi c'est eux qu'on sacrifie dans la guerre. » Georges Bernard Shaw

"It's much more easy to dispense of men that to make do without women, that's why men are the first one to go to war".

The first quote remains unknown to me...but I'm not sure it refers to traditional female pursuits...

[gingerpale]

minty--these are great, thank you! The first American (?) saying about women that comes to mind is "..women's work is never done." How grim!
The French ones are lovely and complimentary--especially the one about God...

So you think the first quote I posted means more like gossip, backbiting, bitchiness, shrewishness, poisoned pies--that sort of thing?

[Griffin]

Minty, sorry you took it like that, I meant that Old French sayings were from Old French people and you were a Young French person. A weak joke that fell on it's nose. I am sure that as well as young and beautiful you are also wise and wonderful... after all you have that lovely cat sleeping on your Phd thesis!

I like the one by Balzac as I have lots of women friends and prefer it that way. As for the old French one, surely that should be...

"ce qu'un chat veut, Dieu le veut" for women are superb, but only cats are superb-er! Just ask your cat if you don't believe me and they'll give you a look as if to humour you for even thinking of asking them such a question.
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Confusion comes fitted as standard.

[minty]

Griffin, no offence taken , and I do agree about cats...do you know this one :

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. Robert Heinlein


Gingerpale : yes , I've heard that saying too ...

to be fair...

Le vin est fort, le roi est plus fort, les femmes le sont plus encore. Martin Luther (wine is strong, the king is stronger, and women even more so .)

"La moitié du monde n'apprécie pas ce qui amuse l'autre moitié » Jane Austen
(One half of the world does not enjoy what the other half enjoys"

Les femmes ont permission d'être faibles, et elles se servent sans scrupule de ce privilège. Madame de Sévigné

(Women have permission to be weak, and they use that privilege adequatly, without scruples"

La femme a une puissance singulière qui se compose de la réalité de la force et de l'apparence de la faiblesse Victor Hugo
A woman has a special power made of real strength and apparent weakness"

« La femme est assez proche de l'homme, comme l'épagneul breton. A ce détail près qu'il ne manque à l'épagneul breton que la parole alors qu'il ne manque à la femme que de se taire. » Pierre Desproges, humorist
"a woman is very close to a man, just like a cocker spaniel. There's one little difference, though : the cocker spaniel just lacks the ability to speak, whereas the woman lacks the ability to keep quiet."

« La femme serait vraiment l'égale de l'homme le jour où, à un poste important, on désignerait une femme incompétente. » Françoise Giroud
"The woman will truly be man's equal on the day an incompetent woman will be granted an important job"

« Les femmes sont extraordinaires. Elles savent se servir de leur moindre atout : l'une, c'est sa démarche, l'autre, son décolleté, une troisième, ses jambes... Il y en a même qui se servent de leur intelligence ! » Tristan Bernard

"Women are wonderful . They know how to use all their assets : for one, it's her manner of walking, for another, her cleavage, for yet another, her legs....some of them even use their brain..."

Women want mediocre men, and men are working to be as mediocre as possible. Margaret Mead

If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman. Margaret Thatcher

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. Robert Heinlein

[Griffin]

Well my friend Jenny isn't famous, but her saying was....

A woman's place is anywhere she damn well pleases... so there!

Another of hers was... Only boys have toys, which is why they think women are for playing with.

One favourite of mine is Billy Shakespeare's

'Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so.' from Hamlet. But then he's always good for a quote or six!

I'm not sure Thatcher meant herself, but then a lot of us Brits wondered if she was a woman in the first place and not just a man in drag... or a badly made android (unlike Blair who was a well made android badly programmed)!!
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Confusion comes fitted as standard.