insensitive to

English translation: not aware that

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:insensitive to the fact that
Selected answer:not aware that
Entered by: Ana Juliá

10:12 Apr 21, 2016
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Religion / About the book of Proverbs
English term or phrase: insensitive to
Prov 26:9 A proverb in the mouth of fools is like a thorn in the hand of the drunkard because when a fool uses a proverb, he is ***insensitive to*** the fact that it applies principally to himself.
Ana Juliá
Spain
Local time: 07:53
Not aware [that the proverb actually applies to themselves]
Explanation:
The proverbs that fools use actually mostly applies to themselves, but they are not aware of that fact.
Selected response from:

Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 13:53
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4Not aware [that the proverb actually applies to themselves]
Lincoln Hui
4 +1does not know how to use it wisely
Yvonne Gallagher


  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Not aware [that the proverb actually applies to themselves]


Explanation:
The proverbs that fools use actually mostly applies to themselves, but they are not aware of that fact.

Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 13:53
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robert Forstag
53 mins

agree  B D Finch
2 hrs

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes I agree about "unaware" but I think the "Proverbs that fools use" and "principally/mainly" is incorrect as a comment on the proverb itself
3 hrs

agree  philgoddard
17 hrs
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
does not know how to use it wisely


Explanation:
a fool who uses a proverb he doesn't understand may hurt both himself and others, just like a drunk may injure himself and others with a thornbush in his hand

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs 26&ver...
Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-04-21 13:11:54 GMT)
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Here are some commentaries which back up my reading of this

http://biblehub.com/commentaries/proverbs/26-9.htm

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Note added at 3 hrs (2016-04-21 13:21:47 GMT)
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OK, I was actually explaining the proverb itself rather than the comment on it which follows
...because when a fool uses a proverb, he is ***insensitive to*** the fact that it applies principally to himself..
Yes, "insensitive" does mean the fool is unaware that this may apply to him but I think the rest of the comment about "applies principally" is not actually correct or corresponds fully to the proverb itself

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 06:53
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 108

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yasutomo Kanazawa
3 mins
  -> Many thanks:-)

neutral  B D Finch: "the fact that it applies principally to himself"?//The drunkard risks falling onto the thorn he carries. Something like being hoist with one's own petard.
2 hrs
  -> not the way I read it at all...especially when read in conjunction with the other proverbs//the drunkard can also hurt/attack other people with the thornbush he carries
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