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114 T A u T O S A K O S D A R B A I X L I I
“The Door of the Pub Is Wide to Get in,
but Narrow to Get out”: Drunkards in Lithuanian
Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
R A S A K A Š Ė T I E N Ė
S u m m a r y
A considerable part of the corpus of Lithuanian proverbs and proverbial phrases is meant
either to exalt the positive features of the human character or to censure and ridicule various
human vices and weaknesses, such as drinking. The first proverbs and proverbial phrases
denouncing drunkards were recorded in the 17 th –18 th centuries and repeatedly printed in
Lithuanian publications; they are still being recorded nowadays. This indicates the high
relevance and painfulness of this problem, because excessive drinking is among the most
socially deplored human weaknesses, resulting in various misfortunes and ultimately, in
the general material and spiritual decline. This is reflected by the Lithuanian proverbs and
proverbial phrases, censuring drunkard’s behavior, ridiculing his gait and appearance, and
describing the miserable existence of the drunkard’s family. Drinking is similarly deplored
in publications from the 19 th –beginning of the 20 th century promoting temperance and in
numerous educative booklets on the harmful effects of drinking, the authors of which also
use proverbs and proverbial phrases in their reasoning. Drunkards are likewise ridiculed by
the Lithuanian humorous and didactic folksongs, with certain folksong motifs and images
probably migrating into the sphere of proverbs and proverbial phrases.
Gauta 2011-11-23