The Answer Key - Japanese Proberbs

Here are the commonly accepted meanings of the Japanese proverbs I posted earlier. To those who played along, you did well! I liked some of your interpretations better than these!

“Even monkeys fall out of trees.”
Meaning: Everyone - even an expert - makes mistakes.

“After the rain, earth hardens.”
Meaning: Adversity builds strong character.

“He takes dumplings over flowers.”'
Meaning: The person prefers the practical over the aesthetic.

“Unless an idiot dies, he won’t be cured.”
Meaning: Only death will cure a fool; or you can't fix stupid! (Or, Gloria's version: "Once a blonde always a blonde." LOL)

“The stake that sticks out gets hammered down.”
Meaning: It's better to conform than to stick out; or don't make waves.
This one has the opposite meaning of "The squeaky wheel gets the oil." In both cases the person is speaking up or complaining about something, but in the "stake's" case, speaking up gets negative attention (it gets him "hammered"); in the "wheel's" case, speaking up gets positive attention (some healing oil).