Proverbially weird: 'kotowaza'

[Taro Toporific]

Sad to say but ....memorizing Japanese 'kotowaza'/proverbs is the fastest way to score BIG at Japanese business meetings, interviews and the like.
As stupid as proverbs
The early bird gets the proverb
The Japan Times: Dec. 20, 2003
...'What's your favorite proverb?'
The words always strike me dumb, for a pair of reasons.
First, I do not have a favorite proverb -- called 'kotowaza' in Japanese. The question thus leaves me at a proverbial loss. ...
The second reason relates to my surprise at how much value proverbs have in Japan. Birds of a feather flock together, and here the entire population practices such sayings much more than enough to make perfect. I suppose there is no accounting for taste.
For back home in the West, people who spout overworn maxims tend to stick out for the wrong reasons. They are pegged as old-fashioned or bookish or just plain goofy. If on a bus, for example, the fellow next to you suddenly yells, 'Hey, driver! Don't cross the bridge till you come to it!' you do not introduce the man to your sister. Rather, you change seats.