# Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos. (criar + cuervo)



## deltor

What is the equivalent of the Spanish saying: "Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos"?

The meaning is this:

It means that if you are raising children, then it can happen sometimes that those children will give you the cold shoulder once they're grown up. In general, it means that favors made to ungrateful persons will always be time lost.

I hope I can convey the meaning accurately


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## Fernando

I think it would be helpful if you explain the meaning for English-speakers.

Alternate version:

"Cría cuervos...y tendrás muchos"


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## fenixpollo

If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas.


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## Selena1967

*"Cria cuervos y te sacarán los ojos" *means something similar to* "**i**f you are feeding a 'monster' he will end up eating you**" *or* "if you let someone to be heartless with anyone else he will attack you anytime soon**"*.

I'm trying to find out if there is an American or British idiom which has the same meaning.Can somebody help me? 

Thanks


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## fobits

¡Buena pregunta! Constituye un verdad tan básico que debería ser algún refrán que incorpora la misma lección.

El más parecido que me occure sería:

If you play with with fire, you'll get burned.

¿Hay otras sugestiones?


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## Chris K

A couple of others:

Those who live by the sword die by the sword.
If you lie down with dogs you'll get up with fleas.


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## elizalop

me puede alguien decir como se traduce esa expresion al ingles???

Gracias.


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## Soy Yo

Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos.

*Raise crows and they'll peck your eyes out.* (It's kind of like those damn birds bite the hand that feeds them. But the idea is that you can't trust untrustworthy people/things/animals.)


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## David

Traducción literal:

Raise crows and they´ll tear your eyes out.

No me ocurre ningún equivalente en inglés. Tal vez: don´t bite the hand that feeds you: no muerdas la mano que te da de comer...


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## aurilla

Quizás, "No good deed will go unpunished."

"Spare the rod and spoil the child."


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## fazulas

En mi opinión, "If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas" seria en español "el que con niños se acuesta, meado se levanta", no "cria cuervos...". Esta última expresión tiene más peso.

Literalmente, en inglés sería: "Breed crows and they will gouge your eyes out". No se me ocurre cuál es el mejor dicho inglés... En todo caso, tampoco son las propuestas de aurilla.

Ni "Those who live by the sword die by the sword", que es "quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere".


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## Crugama

Hola a todos(as)!!!

Hace poco días escuche este popular refrán. ¿Podrían decirme cuál sería el equivalente de éste en Inglés?

*"Cria cuervos y te sacarán los ojos."*

Gracias de antemano!


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## nv1962

If you're referring to the traditional meaning, i.e. raising kids "wrong" and inevitably getting to suffer the consequences, you could say: "you get the children you deserve".

In a more broad sense, e.g. a sport team coach being lax on discipline, I can't come up with an existing equivalent. Perhaps another might fulfill that purpose: "you reap what you sow."


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## Crugama

Thanks *NV1962*!!!

I think the saying refers to raising children in a wrong way and suffering the concecuences.


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## javier8907

No, the meaning is -as I understand it- "No good deed will go unpunished." -at last, aurilla. Of course it can be applied to children, but also to any kind of relationship where someone does a lot of good and gets evil in return. I think it's about ingratitude rather than anything else.

When it actually refers to children it doesn't mean that lack of discipline makes spoilt children, but it applies to children who turn their backs on their parents when they're grown up.


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## javier8907

Many of the suggested translations have in fact much closer Spanish equivalents. For example, _"You reap what you sow"_ exists as _"Se recoge lo que se siembra"_, _"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."_ is _"No muerdas la mano que te da de comer."_ (absolutely literal), and _"If you play with fire, you'll get burned."_ has a counterpart in Spanish too: _"El que juega con fuego, se acaba quemando."._


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## Berrocal98

Any idea for the translation? Does it exist any idiom with the same meaning?
Thanks!!

This idiom is used for pointing the ingratitude of people who, owning you a favour, act against you instead of doing something good for you.
(I'm not sure whether I've been enough clear)


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## Masood

Berrocal98 said:


> Any idea for the translation? Does it exist any idiom with the same meaning?
> Thanks!!


Hi
What is the meaning in Spanish? Can you give an example of when you would use it?


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## Dlyons

"He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind"


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## Alf-Med

Spanish meaning is that you feel betrayed by someone.

If you help many times somebody and once you ask him for help he refuse to help you, then you would say: "cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos"


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## Berrocal98

Thank you Dlyon!!!
And thank you Alf-Med, you've been quicker than me!!!


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## Dlyons

Alf-Med said:


> Spanish meaning is that you feel betrayed by someone.
> 
> If you help many times somebody and once you ask him for help he refuse to help you, then you would say: "cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos"



Obviously, a native Spanish speaker would know better but I read this slightly differently.  

My take is that something does not change its nature ("a leopard does not change his spots"), so if you encourage something dangerous/bad you should expect a bad outcome.


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## Berrocal98

As I see, the two points of view are complementaries. The person who refuses to help you may act in this negative way because of his bad nature. In other words, the bad nature will lead to a negative attitude (even if you have help him/her several times before)
What do you think?


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## Masood

Lo que me viene a la mente es la frase hecha inglesa: _To bite the hand that feeds you_.

Se usa cuando te comportes mal hacia otra persona que está ayudándote o te ha ayudado en el pasado.

Espera a ver qué opinan los demás.


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## verence

Berrocal98 said:


> As I see, the two points of view are complementaries. The person who refuses to help you may act in this negative way because of his bad nature. In other words, the bad nature will lead to a negative attitude (even if you have help him/her several times before)
> What do you think?


I agree with you.


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## Berrocal98

Thank you for your help!!


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## Mirlo

Solo para información: en Panamá se usa más con este sentido:

Que los *padres crían* a los hijos de una manera negativa y después estos cuando crecen le hacen las mismas cosas o peores, los tratan mal a los padres cuando llegan a viejos les grita, los maltratan, etc. 
A eso se debe el dicho de cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos.


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## sound shift

Mirlo said:


> Solo para información: en Panamá se usa más con este sentido:
> 
> Que los *padres crían* a los hijos de una manera negativa y después estos cuando crecen le hacen las mismas cosas o peores, los tratan mal a los padres cuando llegan a viejos les grita, los maltratan, etc.
> A eso se debe el dicho de cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos.



That sounds like "You reap what you sow."


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## Neboah

Dlyons said:


> "He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind"


Eso es "*Quien siembra vientos recoge tempestades*"

Saludos.


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## Alf-Med

Masood said:


> Lo que me viene a la mente es la frase hecha inglesa: _To bite the hand that feeds you_.
> 
> Se usa cuando te comportes mal hacia otra persona que está ayudándote o te ha ayudado en el pasado.
> 
> Espera a ver qué opinan los demás.


 
If Spanish we have "morder la mano que te alimenta", but this means to do something against someone you need for your survival or your incoming.

"cría cuervos..." is something you say when you help (or feed, or teach, or mentor, or trust) somebody and afterwards he is not behaving as expected. Then you realize about his real personality.


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## Mirlo

sound shift said:


> That sounds like "You reap what you sow."


 kind of.. ..reap what you sow= *Cosechas lo que siembras*


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## ARR

El "Diccionario de Refranes" de Espasa Calpe dice sobre la expresión *Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos:*

_Explica que los beneficios hechos a ingratos ler sirven de armas para pagar el bien con el mal._

Está documentado su uso por el Marqués de Santillana en su _Refranes que dicen las viejas tras el fuego (1454)_.

¡Es que me encanta lo del origen de los refranes!

Saludos
ARR


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## Masood

Alf-Med said:


> If Spanish we have "morder la mano que te alimenta", but this means to do something against someone you need for your survival or your incoming.
> 
> "cría cuervos..." is something you say when you help (or feed, or teach, or mentor, or trust) somebody and afterwards he is not behaving as expected. Then you realize about his real personality.


There's another saying which _might _fit: _You can't teach an old dog new tricks_.


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## Dlyons

ARR said:


> El "Diccionario de Refranes" de Espasa Calpe dice sobre la expresión *Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos:*
> 
> _Explica que los beneficios hechos a ingratos ler sirven de armas para pagar el bien con el mal._
> 
> Está documentado su uso por el Marqués de Santillana en su _Refranes que dicen las viejas tras el fuego (1454)_.
> 
> ¡Es que me encanta lo del origen de los refranes!
> 
> Saludos
> ARR



Then "to bite the hand that feeds you" seems the nearest equivalent.


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## Neboah

ARR said:


> El "Diccionario de Refranes" de Espasa Calpe dice sobre la expresión *Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos:*
> 
> _Explica que *los beneficios hechos a ingratos les sirven de armas para pagar el bien con el mal.*_
> 
> Está documentado su uso por el Marqués de Santillana en su _Refranes que dicen las viejas tras el fuego (1454)_.
> 
> ¡Es que me encanta lo del origen de los refranes!
> 
> Saludos
> ARR


 
"*No good deed goes unpunished"*????


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## Mirlo

Neboah said:


> "*No good deed goes unpunished"*????


 Este es el que mas se acerca...


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## ARR

Podría ser; eso sí, con una buena cucharada de ironía


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## Javi.Gasteiz

Do you have any similar expresion  in English to this one ??

Cria cuervos y te sacaran los ojos.

thank you in advance


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## sneaksleep

Hmmmm. I'll try to think of more, but for now, the only one that occurs to me is:
*You [shall/will] reap what you sow* (cosechas lo que siembras).


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## Javi.Gasteiz

thank you all !


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## DelaChón

Reverso online (by Collins) provides the following translation: 

Mind that you don't lavish your gifts upon the ungrateful.

Do native speakers use it any often? It is a very popular proverb in Spanish! 

Cheers!


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## fenixpollo

DelaChón said:


> Mind that you don't lavish your gifts upon the ungrateful.


 Collins' translation is slightly different than the meanings given earlier in this thread for "cría cuervos".





DelaChón said:


> Do native speakers use it any often? It is a very popular proverb in Spanish!


 An expression that is similar to the Collins version, and more common, is about throwing pearls before swine. It's a literary quote, and I don't hear it often in everyday speech, but it's a proverb -- unlike the phrase about lavishing gifts on the ungrateful, which I have never heard before.


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## Gabriel

I don't think that this saying is about (lack of) gratitude, as many Spanish speakers said in this thread.
I think, or at least I use it, to describe for example that if you "train" someone to be evil, he might eventually come after you.

If you grow and train a dog to be aggressive, it might eventually bite you.
If you ask your subordinates to lie to others, hide things under the carpet, etc. they will eventually do exactly that to you.
If you, actively or by omission, grow/let your children to be rude, bad-mannered and insolent, don't expect a lot of compassion and support from them at a later time.

It is more or less in the line of "cosecharás tu siembra", but always with the negative connotation.


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## Sunshine on Leith

Yes, a bit like 'I created a monster and it came back to bite me'


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## Gabriel

^^^^^^  Yes, that's what I think.
Is that a usual saying or just a sentence that coveys the meaning?
And shouldn't it be "I*'ve* created a monster..."


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## Sunshine on Leith

It could be too, then you would need to change it to 'and it has come back to bite me'.

The problem is that the original would technically need to be translated as: 'Create a monster and it will come back to bite you' but I don't think that works so well. Would this make sense to a native or is it a bit forced?


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## Alejandra15

How about _*eaten bread is soon forgotten*_ ?


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## ARR

A mí me parece que tu propuesta tiene más que ver con la persona desagradecida que con lo que decía Gabriel en su post, que es más el sentido de la expresión "cría cuervos..." Si alimentas algo/alguien malvado por naturaleza, no conseguirás nada; solo que en el futuro te devuelva mal por bien.

A ver si algún nativo se acuerda de alguna expresión, que seguro que tiene que haberla.

¡Feliz Navidad!


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## donbeto

No conozco esta expresión, pero no me imagino que quiere decir "Cria cuervos ..."


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## Gabriel

Del diccionario de WR:



> criar [conjugation =>]
> VT
> [...]
> 3 [+ ganado] to rear, raise [+ aves de corral] to breed; (para competición) to breed
> REFRÁN: cría cuervos (que te sacarán los ojos)
> qué mala suerte tuvo con sus hijos; ya sabes, cría cuervos ... she's been so unlucky with her children, after all she's done for them they've repaid her with nothing but ingratitude



Quiero dejar asentado que no concuerdo con el ejemplo del refrán.
Si "after all she's done for them", entonces está criando niños buenos, no cuervos.

Cría a tus niños, educa a tus empleados, etc para que sean egoístas y traicioneros, y no esperes que sean buenos, leales y piadosos contigo.


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## Culturilla

Some posters say that "cría cuervos" means that you get what you give. I don't see it that way. I'm thinking of ungrateful children who grow up to be mean to their parents for no reason at all. Imagine something like this: the parents get old and start needing more and more help because they're not as self-sufficient as they used to be. The children decide to put them in a nursing home because they all of a sudden see their parents as a burden. The parents are OK, they just need some help and patience but the children will have none of it. Nursing home it is, because I don't want to deal with this mess.

 That's when I would say: "Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos". 

Another example would be children fighting over their parents' will (while they're still alive).

I once saw the trailer for a horror movie about evil children and I remember the tagline translation for the Spanish version going "cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos". The English one said something like "You brought them into this world and they're gonna take you out". Can't remember which movie it was... It was a good translation, I thought.


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## Aguas Claras

I think it means "You reap what you sow", as somebody says above. I'm quite familiar with the Spanish expression and I believe it is that (although maybe a little stronger!).


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## Elcanario

Lo siento Aguas Claras pero no estoy de acuerdo.
Lo que siembras cosecharás —Gálatas 6:7; "No os engañéis; Dios no puede ser burlado: pues todo lo que el hombre sembrare, eso también segará."— no tiene nada que ver con la expresión "cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos".

Yo estoy de acuerdo con la descripción que hace Culturilla. El refrán avisa del peligro que tiene ser mentor, etc de cierta gente desagradecida.
La expresión se hace extensiva a otros contextos, no solo familiares, como por ejemplo a cualquier situación donde favoreces, ayudas, etc a alguien que acaba traicionándote, abandonándote en situación comprometida...  demostrando una falta total de respeto, agradecimiento...
Como dice otro dicho: "De bien nacido es ser agradecido" que postula digamos lo contrario, sé agradecido con quien te ha hecho bien o de lo contrario serás un malnacido.
Un saludo


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## Aguas Claras

Interesante.


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## ARR

Buenos días,

De acuerdo con Culturilla y Elcanario. Sería como sembrar en terreno estéril. Por mucho que siembres, no cosecharás nada.


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## ARR

Pero seguimos sin equivalente en inglés...


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## Culturilla

Aguas Claras said:


> I think it means "You reap what you sow", as somebody says above. I'm quite familiar with the Spanish expression and I believe it is that (although maybe a little stronger!).



It's MUCH stronger.  Besides, we have the Spanish equivalent for "you reap what you sow": lo que siembras, recoges. Or "El que siembra vientos, recoge tempestades".



Elcanario said:


> Lo siento Aguas Claras pero no estoy de acuerdo.
> Lo que siembras cosecharás —Gálatas 6:7; "No os engañéis; Dios no puede ser burlado: pues todo lo que el hombre sembrare, eso también segará."— no tiene nada que ver con la expresión "cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos".
> 
> Yo estoy de acuerdo con la descripción que hace Culturilla. El refrán avisa del peligro que tiene ser mentor, etc de cierta gente desagradecida.
> La expresión se hace extensiva a otros contextos, no solo familiares, como por ejemplo a cualquier situación donde favoreces, ayudas, etc a alguien que acaba traicionándote, abandonándote en situación comprometida...  demostrando una falta total de respeto, agradecimiento...
> Como dice otro dicho: "De bien nacido es ser agradecido" que postula digamos lo contrario, sé agradecido con quien te ha hecho bien o de lo contrario serás un malnacido.
> Un saludo



Exacto. Otro ejemplo sería en el trabajo. Ayudas a un compañero con un proyecto, gracias a ti obtiene un ascenso, se convierte en tu jefe y empieza a tratarte fatal. Es un déspota inaguantable. Cuando le pides un favor, te dice que te apañes. Eso sería otra situación en la que diría "Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos". Claro que también se podría decir, en este caso concreto, "no good deed goes unpunished".

No sé si el significado original tiene que ver con que ambos sean malos, pero yo siempre lo he entendido como que no: que la persona que ha criado cuervos no ha hecho nada malo.


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## Masood

Alguien sugirió "Eaten bread is soon forgotten".

eaten bread is soon forgotten - Wiktionary

Aunque es la primera vez que lo he oído (según parece es un refrán irlandés), yo creo que encaja bien con el ejemplo de @Culturilla


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## DelaChón

It's both, actually... A crow is a crow, it's in its nature to act the way it does. So, in that, Culturilla is right. However, all who claim it has to do with the "you reap what you sow" proverb are definitely right, too.


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## MGabriela

aurilla said:


> Quizás, "No good deed will go unpunished."
> 
> "Spare the rod and spoil the child."



I think you've come up with the best! "Spare the rod and spoil the child"
Because "Cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos" es saying that if you educate your children to be ravens (this is ruthless, heartless) the time will come when they'll be like ravens (ruthless, heartless) with you, peck your eyes out.


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## MGabriela

DelaChón said:


> It's both, actually... A crow is a crow, it's in its nature to act the way it does. So, in that, Culturilla is right. However, all who claim it has to do with the "you reap what you sow" proverb are definitely right, too.



Yes it has to do with you reap what you sow but with respect to the education of your children. It warns you to be careful teaching children responsibility and selflessness or you'll regret it. It's a really good idiom for the times we are living.


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## MGabriela

Gabriel said:


> I don't think that this saying is about (lack of) gratitude, as many Spanish speakers said in this thread.
> I think, or at least I use it, to describe for example that if you "train" someone to be evil, he might eventually come after you.
> 
> If you grow and train a dog to be aggressive, it might eventually bite you.
> If you ask your subordinates to lie to others, hide things under the carpet, etc. they will eventually do exactly that to you.
> If you, actively or by omission, grow/let your children to be rude, bad-mannered and insolent, don't expect a lot of compassion and support from them at a later time.
> 
> It is more or less in the line of "cosecharás tu siembra", but always with the negative connotation.



In Spanish there is another one that is similar but more general, may be more like "You'll reap what you sow" it is "Siembra vientos y cosecharas tempestades."


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## Culturilla

MGabriela said:


> I think you've come up with the best! "Spare the rod and spoil the child"
> Because "Cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos" es saying that if you educate your children to be ravens (this is ruthless, heartless) the time will come when they'll be like ravens (ruthless, heartless) with you, peck your eyes out.



I like it, although the Spanish equivalent that first popped into my head was "La letra con sangre entra".

El refrán de "cría cuervos" siempre lo he interpretado como un aviso de lo peligroso que es hacer favores para cierta gente o, más concretamente, ser mentor o enseñar a alguien que después utilizará eso contra ti.


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## MGabriela

Si exacto, especialmente el ser mentor o enseñar a alguien. Hacer favores es mas rebuscado me parece. 
Hay otro refrán que se puede considerar del mismo estilo que es el aviso, "No avives hiles!" este es de Sudamérica, Rio Platense.


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## Mirlo

Otro:
Mind that you don't lavish your gifts upon the ungrateful


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