# Lithuanian: Hasty dogs produce blind cubs / haste makes waste



## Kobzar

Dear all:
Dear all:
Dear all:
Dear all:
I am not yet a student of the Lithuanian language, but my question is about a proverb quoted in German in several websites, and said to be of Lithuanian origin. For example, in Zitat von Sprichwort, I read: 

Die eilige Hündin wirft blinde Junge.
aus Litauen

The literal translation into English would be "the hurry bitch produces blind cubs." I have found a very similar sentence in a novel that I am translating from the German into English. There I read: "eilige Hunde werfen nur blinde Junge" ("hurry dogs only produce blind cubs"). Judging from the context, it seems to convey the idea of the English proverb "haste makes waste," that is: if you try running too fast to reach your goal, you will obtain poor results. 

My question is double:
1. Could you please let me know how that proverb sounds in the original Lithuanian?
2. Most important, do you know any approximate English equivalent of that proverb? It would be fabulous if it would involve dogs as well… 

Thank you very much in advance, and best regards.


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## Rocko!

_Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean Setting_, By Marten Stol, F. A. M. Wiggerman
Birth in Babylonia and the Bible




_Proverbs, chiefly taken from the Adagia of Erasmus_, with explanations, by Robert Bland.

A fancy version:


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## Olaszinhok

Waiting for the Lithuanian version, I can say that strangely enough, in my language (Italian), the proverb refers to a hasty cat, not a dog.
_La gatta frettolosa fece i gattini ciechi _- Literally - The hasty cat gave birth to blind kittens.


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## Perseas

I don't know if German borrowed this proverb from Lithuanian, but according to this source it was originally an Akkadian proverb (19th c. BC), which had equivalents in other languages like Greek, Sumerian, Italian, Turkish, Arabic ...

Lingering over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran


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## winenous

To convey a similar (though not identical) idea, I think the most common version in modern English is "More haste, less speed". 

Online there are references to _The hasty bitch brings forth blind puppies_, but I have never heard it in real life.


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## Kobzar

winenous said:


> To convey a similar (though not identical) idea, I think the most common version in modern English is "More haste, less speed".
> 
> Online there are references to _The hasty bitch brings forth blind puppies_, but I have never heard it in real life.


Thank you very much! Somebody in another forum suggested "haste makes waste," which I like because it has a rhyme, like the German original.



Perseas said:


> I don't know if German borrowed this proverb from Lithuanian, but according to this source it was originally an Akkadian proverb (19th c. BC), which had equivalents in other languages like Greek, Sumerian, Italian, Turkish, Arabic ...
> 
> Lingering over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran


Thank you very much!



Olaszinhok said:


> Waiting for the Lithuanian version, I can say that strangely enough, in my language (Italian), the proverb refers to a hasty cat, not a dog.
> _La gatta frettolosa fece i gattini ciechi _- Literally - The hasty cat gave birth to blind kittens.


Grazie tante! È bello!



Rocko! said:


> View attachment 44058
> _Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean Setting_, By Marten Stol, F. A. M. Wiggerman
> Birth in Babylonia and the Bible
> 
> View attachment 44059
> _Proverbs, chiefly taken from the Adagia of Erasmus_, with explanations, by Robert Bland.
> 
> A fancy version:
> View attachment 44060


¡Muchas gracias! Es estupendo.


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## mO_ok

Being a native Lithuanian, I have never heard such a proverb. Sure, we have some sayings about being hasty but nothing involving dogs  So, it is either really obscure, dialectal or non-existent in Lithuanian (I checked the dictionary of idioms for bitch (kalė) and dog (šuo)).


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## Kobzar

mo_Ok said:


> Being a native Lithuanian, I have never heard such a proverb. Sure, we have some sayings about being hasty but nothing involving dogs  So, it is either really obscure, dialectal or non-existent in Lithuanian (I checked the dictionary of idioms for bitch (kalė) and dog (šuo)).


Thank you anyway! Best regards.


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