Meaning & Analysis
He exaggerates something trivial—a fart—into something momentous or terrifying, like a thunderbolt.
Insights
Exaggeration
The proverb mocks those who blow small incidents or faults out of proportion, treating minor matters as if they were grave or catastrophic.
Alarmism
It highlights a tendency toward unnecessary panic or drama, critiquing people who respond to inconsequential events with outsized fear or outrage.
Historical and Cultural Symbolism
The contrast between a 'fart' (comic, trivial) and a 'thunderbolt' (powerful, awe-inspiring) was a well-known trope, both in classical and folk traditions, for lampooning those who lack perspective or proportion.
Psychological Reflection
The proverb captures a common psychological impulse: the tendency to magnify threats or offenses, often to attract attention, deflect criticism, or excuse one's own anxieties.
Moral Caution
By ridiculing this behavior, the saying implicitly counsels calm, proportionate responses to life’s irritations, discouraging both melodrama and the spread of needless fear.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The proverb sets the most trivial against the most dramatic (fart vs. thunderbolt), sharpening its satirical edge.
Hyperbole
It uses extreme exaggeration to highlight the absurdity of the subject's reaction.
Irony
The phrase is steeped in irony, as it takes something universally regarded as insignificant and treats it as an event of great consequence.
Transcription
Quotations
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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