My fifth-grade student makes clear she’s not going to put up with this ridiculous imaginative exercise she’s being asked to engage in.
Day: January 18, 2013
Caveat: 개같이 벌어서 정승같이 쓰다
개같이 벌어서 정승같이 쓰다
dog-like earn-CONJ minister-like spend
Earn like a dog, spend like a king.
The minister meant here is the king’s head-of-household type minister, from olden times, so I felt the looser translation could just use “king” as that conveys the social level adequately.
“All’s fair in business”? I think there’s an aspect of this meaning, though it could also simply mean, “Hard work has its rewards.” One online translation found was “Work like a dog, live like a king.”
Speaking of working like a dog, and ambivalence toward money:
…near the end of a conversation with Curt, my boss / friend.
Me: “You think I’m weird, don’t you?”
Curt: “Yes. How can you not like money? Do you really not like money.”
Me: “Really. I believe it’s useful, but I really don’t like money.”
Curt: shakes his head and turns away.