Behind an able man, there are always...what? THERE ARE ALWAYS WHAT??
August 30, 2010 6:26 PM Subscribe
What is my fortune cookie trying to tell me?
I got this fortune in a cookie recently, and I can't for the life of me figure out what it was supposed to say.
Clearly it's a botched job, but is there some discernible phrase they were going for? Is this a poorly-rendered Engrish translation of a real saying in Chinese? I thought for a second they might be trying to go for, "behind every good man is a good woman," but that's pretty weak, even for the piss-poor "fortunes" these cookie companies crank out.
Any ideas?
I got this fortune in a cookie recently, and I can't for the life of me figure out what it was supposed to say.
Clearly it's a botched job, but is there some discernible phrase they were going for? Is this a poorly-rendered Engrish translation of a real saying in Chinese? I thought for a second they might be trying to go for, "behind every good man is a good woman," but that's pretty weak, even for the piss-poor "fortunes" these cookie companies crank out.
Any ideas?
Well, that first line clearly says "H J K L", which is a cryptic reference to the arrangement of keys on a laptop...
wait....never mind...
I got nothing...
posted by HuronBob at 6:30 PM on August 30, 2010
wait....never mind...
I got nothing...
posted by HuronBob at 6:30 PM on August 30, 2010
Best answer: My googling leads me to suspect it's meant to be "behind an able men there are always other able men."
posted by smcameron at 6:31 PM on August 30, 2010
posted by smcameron at 6:31 PM on August 30, 2010
"Behind every great man there's a great woman." perhaps
posted by debbie_ann at 6:34 PM on August 30, 2010
posted by debbie_ann at 6:34 PM on August 30, 2010
Best answer: other able men.
http://www.shrenik.org/quotes.php?key=A
posted by lobstah at 6:37 PM on August 30, 2010
http://www.shrenik.org/quotes.php?key=A
posted by lobstah at 6:37 PM on August 30, 2010
I think this sort of thing requires the "in bed" treatment. Make up an answer!
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on August 30, 2010
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on August 30, 2010
... proofreaders?
posted by salvia at 7:19 PM on August 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by salvia at 7:19 PM on August 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
Best answer: It's "other able men", and that's amazing, as I got that fortune (exactly as you got it) ~15 years ago. Maybe more. We got the correct one some number of years later, which is why I know the answer.
posted by brainmouse at 7:52 PM on August 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by brainmouse at 7:52 PM on August 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Fascinating. It makes so much more sense when it's, you know, an actual sentence.
And brainmouse, now you've got me worried that I ate a 15 year old cookie! Aaahh!!
posted by phunniemee at 8:03 PM on August 30, 2010
And brainmouse, now you've got me worried that I ate a 15 year old cookie! Aaahh!!
posted by phunniemee at 8:03 PM on August 30, 2010
At least you got a fortune. My most recent cookie told me to come back later, it was sleeping.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 10:20 PM on August 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 10:20 PM on August 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
At least it's vague. I got one that read: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH YOUR LIFE? (srsly all caps)
posted by tristeza at 10:32 PM on August 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by tristeza at 10:32 PM on August 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
My good friend got one a few days ago that just said, "relationships"
posted by blue_bicycle at 4:41 AM on August 31, 2010
posted by blue_bicycle at 4:41 AM on August 31, 2010
My friend got one once that said "Support literacy! Buy a box of fortune cookies."
posted by naturalog at 4:43 AM on August 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by naturalog at 4:43 AM on August 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:28 PM on August 30, 2010 [14 favorites]