Idioms, Expressions and Common Peacekeeper Proverbs

"I am so tired of having to explain myself to peoples from other cultures. I do not think there is anything very complicated in the words I use. You don't have to be A.I. to understand. With some people I want to just delete the data but I think the moon is already passing."

— Extract from Travelling To Victory: An Exploration of Victalis System
by Peacekeeper V'Kly

Background

There are a lot of idioms and phrases which are used within the Peacekeeper Alliance, however, that does not mean that they are universal within every corner of the Peacekeeper Territories. Although a few might have been picked up by other species, they are mostly from Primian, Majoran, Minoran and Macran cultures, and are therefore far more commonly used in the P'Ache Solar System than any of the other systems.

Idioms

Idioms are generally words which have a meaning not necessarily clear from the words themselves. This is a list of idioms which are popular with Pachians.

Idiom	Meaning	Origin
A storm hiding a sunrise	A good thing that seemed bad at first	Primian, from their months of constant storms
A thought in the mind of a Minoran	Something common	Minorans are reknown thinkers
Float around the mud	Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable	Macran, from the idea of making a footprint in the swamps
Skip the negotiations and go straight to the weapons	To get something over with because it is inevitable	From the image of a failed negotiation
Make progress	Good luck	From the idea that progress is part conviction and part luck
File it	Stop working on something	From the practice of filing something and it getting lost in the files
Making a pact to save a Pak	Doing something poorly in order to save time or money	A Pak is the Peacekeeper currency, and a pact isn't something you should ever enter into lightly
Take a step out of the mantle	Slow down	Primian, from the mantles which protect settlements from the storms. The mantles sped up production and Primian's progress
Lose the land	Out of control	From the time of ground wars for the Primians
Just sign on the line	Do the thing you've been wanting to do so you can move on	From the idea of persuading people to sign peace treaties
Stop sky gazing	Focus on what you should be doing	Derogatory take on the thoughtfulness of Minoran
Don't doubt the data	Trust what someone says	From the idea that data is indisputable
Delete the data	Start over	Removing what has already been done so that nothing is there to start from
Wait until the mud dries	Don't give up	Macran, from the idea that the traditional mud skin drawings don't look good until the mud has dried
You don't have to be A.I. to understand	It's not complicated	A.I. is considered a higher level of intelligence
Don't blame the digitiser for the output	To not hold someone responsible for something	Digitisers is a machine which traditionally provide data pulled from the Primian data centres.
Leave out the terms	Tell something briefly	From the extensive terms typically included in treaties and other documentation
The moon is passing	It's too late	From P'Ache Micro where the moon passes once every 13 months disrupting signals
Dig yourself to the surface	You have to work for what you want	From when the Primians lived below ground to avoid the storms
Find your structure	Calm down	Majoran phrase of unknown origin
My Primian has worn off	My patience has run out	The idea that Primians have high standards and that they have been worn down
A cloudless day	An ideal situation	From the Primian, where storms are extremely common
If in doubt, keep thinking	Keep trying	From the Minorans, who value thinking
Can't see the glory	To get upset	From The Alliance motto, in which glory is the future
Wait for the data to come in	Let's not talk about that problem right now	Again, the idea that data is indisputable
Process the problem	Understand something complicated	The idea that technology can make the complex less complicated

Expressions

These expressions don't necessarily have a known origin, and are likely to be more obscure than the idioms listed above.

Expression	Meaning
You have the same data I do	I don't know
Speak like a Minoran	Tell me what you're thinking
A storm of moons	The worst possible situation
Data over descriptions	Better to show than tell
Better a signature than a promise	What you have now is worth more than what you might have later
Adding mud to it	To make a bad situation worse
In the wrong system	To be looking for solutions in the wrong place
Starting without a script	Take on a project that you cannot finish
A swamp to a storm	Comparing two things that cannot be compared
Part you with your name	Very expensive
Worth a promise	Have a high value
Haven't asked a Majoran	Do something without having planned beforehand
Like a Minoran with a multitool	You're not very good at this
Don't sign before the terms are written	What you're doing is too risky
Written in mud	To do something pointless
Spot the perfect star	Get something exactly right
The ink's not dry	This isn't over yet
Like finding mud on Micro	It's easy
Data before decision	Take only calculated risks
Last chance to fly	If you make another mistake, there will be trouble
Adding an egg to the Fraga	To spoil something
Like a Minoran night	Perfect
A fish from the sky	Something that happened without warning
Making a Kranta in a swamp	No chance at all

Proverbs

These proverbs are less frequently used than the idioms and expressions above, but tend to have a message or lesson behind them. They are more commonly used by older Pachians.

Expression	Meaning
An artist in a data center can do more harm than good	People who don't understand something fully are dangerous
You don't tell the Sirap when you're making a Sankla	People who know too much are dangerous
The sky is clear after the moon has passed	Good things come after bad things
A mudslide can start with a single step	Events have momentum and build upon each other
Stop the Notlih before the herd follows	Fix the problem now because it will get worse later
Don't call the armada over a missed appointment	Don't make a big fuss about a small problem
Catching the leaf is easier than replanting the forest	You can prevent a problem with little effort. Fixing it later is harder
You never know when a cross word will cross you	Don't destroy relationships
There's a storm on the wind	Something bad is coming
Complaining won't stop the moon from passing	There's no reason to complain about something that can't be fixed
Don't focus on the output before the inputs done	Stop asking questions
Every Emong flies high once	Everyone gets a chance at least once
Getting closer to a Screat don't improve the smell	The better you know someone the less you like them
Don't sign the contract without reading it	You'll make mistakes if you rush through something
Go back to the control	Hear something from the person involved
You can't make a Trangen until the Globnans are in your hand	Don't count on something good happening until it's happened.
The ship doesn't choose the destination	If you can't do the job, don't blame it on others
There's never only one signatory	One person alone isn't responsible. Both people are responsible
Get out of the mantle before the storms come	Take advantage of a good situation
No one takes on a Acasej twice	You're more cautious when you've been hurt before
A Macran can't tell a Majoran how to build	People who are questionable shouldn't criticize others
Every spoonful of Ressure can make its own Rantis	Don't waste things and you'll always have enough
Prep the sketch before you build	Getting a good start is important
Hold onto the reins or the Ikkne will ride you	You'll get what you want by being firm
You can't force an Emong to fly	You can't force someone to make the right decision
No treaty is selfless	There's always a cost to doing something

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Related Articles

Organisations	Peacekeeper Command, P'Ache Prime Media Outlets, Peacekeeper Academy, Peacekeeper Integrity
Culture	PA Standard Commands, Social Rules for Peacekeepers
Locations	Peacekeeper Territories, P'Ache Solar System, The Primary Territories, The Aspiration System, The Victalis System

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Background
Idioms
Expressions
Proverbs