Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” says the old Chinese proverb. It is often used by educators to condemn ‘spoon-feeding’ in education. In the modern times this proverb has been modified and adapted to suit several life situations.

The following is a list of the funny adaptations and parodies of this proverb. Read and enjoy these modern proverbs!

Funny Adaptations
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for one day. Teach a man to fish and he'll stink for the rest of his life.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend.
Give a man a fish , he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he sits in a boat and drinks beer all day.
Give a man a fish; he'll eat it and fall asleep. Teach a man to fish; he'll endanger the entire species.
From a wife's point of view: Teach a man to fish and you're digging worms for the rest of your life.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; feed a man to a fish and feed your fish for six months.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will be surrounded by people telling him how they can do it better.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll buy a funny hat. Talk to a hungry man about fish, and you're a consultant.
Give a man a fish and he has food for a day. Teach a man to fish and he has to buy bamboo rods, graphite reels, monofilament lines, neoprene waders, creels, tackleboxes, lures, flies, spinners, worm rigs, slip sinkers, offset hooks, gore-tex hats, 20 pocket vests, fish finders, depth sounders, radar, boats, trailers, global positioning systems, coolers, and six-packs.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for the rest of his life. Promise to give him a fish and he might vote for you.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Create a good tutorial and he can teach himself how to fish.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give a man a midget chef and you feed him for a lifetime.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Give a man a sub-prime fish loan and you're in business.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and you no longer own him.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Beat a man with a fish and you can steal his wallet.
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don't teach a man to fish...and feed yourself. He's a grown man and fishing is not that hard.
Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Give a cat a fish, he's still not going to come when you call him.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.
Give a man a fish, he'll eat fish for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat fish everyday, Teach a man to sell fish, and he can eat whatever he wants forever.
Give a man a fish, and he eats for one day. Give a fish a man and he eats for weeks.
Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll want to use your yacht.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Give a kid a fish, it's going to die.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Give a man a few cats, and he'll do nothing but fish for the rest of his life.
If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he'll eat all the fish you might have eaten.
Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.
Teach a man to fish and he will eat for life. Give him someone else's fish and he will vote for you.

Glossary of Fish Names in English & Indian Languages

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