PROVERB: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
ANTI-PROVERB: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
The popular anti-proverb has been cited in print since at least 1997.
29 December 1997, St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press, Express, pg. 2C:
“Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
31 December 1998, The Facts (Clute, TX), “Texas Angling” by Mike Holmes, pg. 3B, col. 6:
And this timeless classic, “Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day!”
10 December 1999, Augusta (GA) Chronicle, Bill Kirby column, pg. 1D, col. 1:
Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
—Barber shop wall plaque
Google Books
1001 Internet Jokes:
Get the Jokes You’ve Been Missing
Edited by D. M. Schwab
Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.com, Inc.
2001
Pg. 77:
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
Google Books
552 questions that make you go “hmmmmm!”
87 great put downs!
Edited by Wayne Cundal
Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse
2010
Pg. 47:
Why is it that if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day, but if you teach him to fish, he’ll sit in a boat and drink beer all day?
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“I’m a better person when I’m tan and holding a margarita” (4/23)
•“You ARE a good driver. That curb DOESN’T belong there” (4/23)
•“‘It’s been a long week.’—Me, in the middle of Tuesday” (4/23)
•“Buying frozen pizza is such a lie. ‘Oh I’ll save this for when I don’t feel like cooking’. Surprise, surprise. Day one” (4/22)
•“Earth Day implies the existence of Moon Night” (4/22)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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