proverb · North Carolina

If you want to catch the calf, give a nubbin to the cow

Approach a goal indirectly through someone connected to it.

Recorded region

North Carolina

Tradition

Traditional / unattributed

Topic

Resourcefulness

Source

B. J. Whiting, ed., “Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings,” The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, vol. 1 (Duke University Press, 1952), p. 379.

Brown folklore collection; traditional expression recorded in the North Carolina collection.

Source publication: 1952 · Record s-674e96076a24

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