В тихом омуте черти водятся
With accent marks:
В ти́хом о́муте че́рти во́дятся.
Translation:
In a quiet whirlpool, demons live.
Meaning:
This proverb usually characterizes an unremarkable, inconspicuous person who suddenly turned out to be capable of extraordinary acts, not always good.
The proverb comes from the old Slavic beliefs, according to which the whirlpools are the habitat of water demons and evil spirits. It was believed that they were the ones who dragged swimmers to the bottom.
The English analog of this proverb is "Still waters run deep".
Other Russian proverbs
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Кабы знал, где упасть, так соломки бы подстелил
If I knew where I would fall, I would lay some straw there.
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С кем поведёшься, от того и наберёшься
With whom you are friends with, from them you will learn.
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You can't hide an awl in a bag.
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Measure seven times, cut one.
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Лучше горькая правда, чем сладкая ложь
Bitter truth is better than sweet lies.
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Don’t wave your fists after the fight.
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Everything has its time.
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Being a guest is good, but being at home is better.
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