- English translation
A good cook can feed a whole wedding party on one goose.
- Literal wording
The cooking woman makes the wedding feast suffice with a goose.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying celebrates competence as a multiplier of resources. A truly capable cook does not need a mountain of provisions; with know-how and careful planning, one modest bird becomes enough for an entire festive crowd. The picture is deliberate exaggeration, not a literal claim about portions or household thrift.
More broadly, it holds that anyone who has mastered a task can manage it well even under constraints. Expertise lets a person organize, ration, and stretch what is available, so results depend less on abundance than on the skill and judgment of whoever is in charge.
- When it is used
Use it to praise someone who achieves a lot with modest means because they truly know their craft, or to argue that skill and good management matter more than abundant supplies. It suits light, admiring remarks rather than formal critique.
- Register
- Colloquial proverbial speech
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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