Sayings that make reference to the liquor world

Languages around the world have many sayings that refer to food, clothing and shelter. Sayings about food outnumber the other two by a mile, and no other food or drink has inspired as many sayings as liquor.
This says something about how much liquor is a part of people’s lives and how much it has shaped the way we think.
Here are some sayings from Japan and a number of other countries.

• “Sake is the best medicine.” (Japan)
Meaning: Drinking the right amount of liquor is healthier than taking medicine.
We had to mention this one first. This saying is so old that it appears in Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), a collection of essays written by a Buddhist monk called Yoshida Kenko in the early 1330s.

• “Sake is heaven’s boon to man.” (Japan)
Meaning: Liquor is a blessed gift from the heavens.
Yes. We’re truly blessed to have liquor!

Meaning: Liquor is a wonderful thing that sweeps away our stresses and worries.
Thank you, liquor, for all that you do!

• “Parents’ words and chilled sake make an impression later.” (Japan)
Meaning: Just as the intoxicating effects of liquor take longer when the liquor is chilled, we do not appreciate what our parents say until later.
It takes time.

• “Sake alone does not change one’s nature.” (Japan)
Meaning: Getting drunk does not change a person’s true nature.
It doesn’t?! So what happened that night was who I really am?

• “There is truth in wine.” (Italy)
Meaning: When we talk over liquor, we say what we really think.
So this is the same the world over. I guess that answers my question about what happened that night…

• “A table without wine is like a field where no flowers grow.” (Italy)
Meaning: A table without wine is as barren as a field where flowers do not grow.
True! What a wonderful and very Italian saying.

• “A vineyard and a beautiful woman require tending.” (France)
Meaning: It takes effort to keep a vineyard and a beautiful woman.
Interesting! That’s a very French take. I can see where they’re coming from.

• “A beer and sauerkraut take money away from the doctor.” (German)
【Meaning: If you have beer and cabbage (the main ingredient of sauerkraut, which was used as medicine by the ancient Greeks), you don’t need to see a doctor.
Yes. We need beer and cabbage!

• “Liquor loosens the lips.” (China)
Meaning: When we get drunk, we become chattier and speak imprudently.
I had noticed!

And on that note,
I’m going to go and fill the tank!
(That’s my own saying about liquor!)