- English translation
A basket with two handles is easily carried by two.
- Literal wording
The basket that has two ears, two people carry it.
- Meaning and lesson
Something that is properly made comes with its own means of being handled. The basket's two 'ears' are its handles, not body parts; a basket fitted with them invites two people to lift it together, so the load becomes manageable because of how it was built.
The saying applies this picture to affairs in general. A matter that has been soundly prepared, with the right supports or footholds built in, is one that can actually be carried out and brought to completion.
- When it is used
Use it when sound preparation or a well-designed arrangement provides the means to complete a task. The basket's two handles illustrate how something made with its practical use in mind can be handled more readily. It praises workable design rather than sheer strength.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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