‘大头蚶，开嘴就生虫’

‘大头蚶，开嘴就生虫’ is a Teochew proverb,literally means that the opened clams are dead, spoiled and infested with worms.’大头’means’big head’,refer to dead clams are big here.’蚶’ means clams.’开嘴’ means open the mouth.’生虫’ means infested with worms.

Practice speaking ‘大头蚶，开嘴就生虫’ in Teochew dialect follow the audio below:

It is used to describe a person who is not good at socializing. He would usually not speak at all, but once he opens his mouth he only says inappropriate and unlucky words.And this kind of people is called”Big Head Clam”.

Behind this proverb,there is a fun story.

The “Big Head Clam” ‘learned his lesson’

In the past, there was such a person in the countryside of Chaoyang (a county of Teochew), and people called him “Big Head Clam” without hesitation.

Let’s say that “Big Head Clam” was ridiculed by others several times because he said the wrong words in some big occasions. For this reason, he decided to change his past and learn to say auspicious words.

“Zhuangyuan Urn” for Good intentions

On this day, a neighbor lady was going to buy a rice jar to divide the family property between her sons.

The “Big Head Clam” thought: Opportunities are rare, and the division of family property is a great event. It is a rare opportunity to show off, and I must impress others.

Having made up his mind, he proposed to the lady that in order to make his children and grandchildren prosperous after the division of the family property, why not call the rice jar “状元瓮” (“状元”,Zhuangyuan, means top scorer in the palace examination.”瓮”means Urn.) to get a good start? The lady thought it made sense and praised him happily.

“Zhuangyuan Urn” or “urn for ashes”?

When she came to the ceramic shop, the old lady remembered what “Big Head Clam” said and said she wanted to buy a “Zhuangyuan Urn”. At this time, unexpectedly, the shop owner actually took out two “Huojin Urn (urn for ashes)”. The old lady immediately opened her mouth and said: “I want a rice urn! Why are you…”

It turned out that “Zhuangyuan Urn” was the “elegant name” of “Huojin Urn (urn for ashes)” by the Teochew people. The old lady was ignorant of the world and made a joke. After the shop owner’s explanation, she woke up from her dream and thought she was unlucky. She couldn’t help mumbling in her mouth, secretly cursing “Big Head Clam” for not being able to spit out ivory!