“To have a cake in each hand,” is to know not which to eat first—to be in a quandary.
“A volcano under the snow,” is a man of amiable manners who conceals a violent temper. [[318]]
“The treasure which always circulates without an obstacle,” is “cash,” or sapeks.
“An apricot-blossom in the snow,” is said when something rare and marvellous happens.
“To blow away the hair to see if there is a scar,” is to look for a mote in another man’s eye, and to hunt for defects.
“As difficult as the roads of Thibet,” is evidently a reminiscence derived from the ancient Buddhist missionaries who came from that region.
“To put on a silk dress to travel at night,” is to do a good action and not have it known.
Some pithy sayings show the local gauge of sense. “He does not know silver from lead,” “He has round eyes,” “He can’t tell cheese from wheat,” He is an idiot. “Doesn’t know lu from yu.” This last refers to two Corean letters, jot and tittle.
“As opposed as fire and water.”
“A buckskin man,” is a man of no will or backbone.