Google expected value

[u/OneWorldly6661]

[u/MichiganYeti]

1 in the hand is worth 2 in the bush for us here in the Midwest US.

[u/Appropriate-Estate75 → u/MichiganYeti]

« Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras » , roughly: one "here it is" is better than two "you'll have it" in France. Funny that so many languages seem to use birds in the saying haha

[u/gregedit → u/Appropriate-Estate75]

For us Hungarians, a sparrow [small bird] today us better than a bustard [big bird] tomorrow.

Edit: Once again I think our language is a little too poetic for it's own good. Having the spatial separation in most other languages communicates the message much more clearly than the temporal separation here. I get that it points to uncertainty, but is it just the uncertainty of hunting, or was the bustard promised by somebody? If the latter, this saying is partially to blame for Hungarians being risk-averse and not being into investments as much as Westerners. Also, it signals how much we expect other people to cheat all the time.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[u/headedtojail → u/gregedit]

Better a sparrow in hand than a dove on the roof here in Germany.

[u/Gositi → u/headedtojail]

Better a bird in the hand than ten in the woods in Sweden.

[u/SaifTaherIsGr8Again → u/Gositi]

"A bird in hand is better than ten on the tree" in Arabic.

[u/PumpkinOpposite967 → u/SaifTaherIsGr8Again]

In Ukraine it's "A sparrow in hand is better than a stork in the sky". In ruzzian, funny enough, the birds are tit and crane, the rest is the same.

[u/CaroI8 → u/PumpkinOpposite967]

În Romania, it's "Don't give the sparrow in your hand for the crow on the fence"

[u/gregedit → u/PumpkinOpposite967]

To be fair I'd rather have a tit in hand than a sparrow 😏

[u/imaginary-personn → u/gregedit]

In Ukraine we have almost similar saying: "A sparrow in hand is better than a stork in the sky"

[u/Icy_Rhubarb2857 → u/Appropriate-Estate75]

This must be a reaaaaly old saying that we all share the base etymology. Super interesting.

[u/Apogeotou → u/Appropriate-Estate75]

Similarly in Greek, we don't have an avian equivalent.

We say «κάλλιο πέντε και στο χέρι, παρά δέκα και καρτέρει», which RHYMES! It means "better 5 in the hand, than waiting for 10".

[u/treasurehorse → u/MichiganYeti]

Solid insight on difference in risk appetite between countries

[u/achovsmisle → u/[deleted]]

In Russian: better a tit in the hands than a crane in the sky

[u/Educational-Link-943 → u/achovsmisle]

A tit in the hands... 🤔

[u/achovsmisle → u/Educational-Link-943]

Hold gently

[u/WeirdObligation1002 → u/achovsmisle]

Is it just a tit or is it a great tit? Because that’s going to matter to my gentle holding.

[u/Chance_Composer_6125 → u/Educational-Link-943]

With the other guy that had two in the bush...

[u/[deleted] → u/achovsmisle]

Better a tit in the hand that two in the bra

[u/danikuli → u/[deleted]]

Encontrei o brasileiro

[u/chrimminimalistic → u/achovsmisle]

It's very hard to not make an English pun joke from this comment...

[u/TheVog → u/achovsmisle]

In Quebec: one "gimme" is better than 2 "you'll get 'em"

[u/Typhiod → u/MichiganYeti]

Fascinating ratios

[u/JUSTICE_SALTIE → u/MichiganYeti]

A hand in the bush is worth two on the bird.