Cryptic Fortune Cookie

by

Fortune cookies are supposed be cryptic, in a Charlie Chan, mysteries-of-the-orient sort of way. But this one was unusually odd:

A clever crow will always paint its feathers black.

What do you think it means?

7 thoughts on “Cryptic Fortune Cookie”

  1. Hmm, it seems to be suggesting:

    Pretend that you are what you are, in a way that makes it seem like you are pretending to be what you are not, in order to confuse people who are trying to understand you so that they can outwit you.

    Or perhaps more simply: keep others guessing about you so that you can use their confusion to your advantage if and when necessary.

    Alternatively it could just be nonsense. It’s hard to tell.

  2. By painting it’s feathers black, it always looks like the other crows. True, it may be significantly smarter than the other crows, but there isn’t anything to be gained by being blatant. It’s better to use the other crows, and stay in the backgound, for truly, the nail that sticks out will get hammered.

  3. a clever crow paints its feathers black to prove that it’s more crow, more pure than other crows.

    a clever crow paints it’s feathers black to hide from others that it’s a crow

  4. I think the first several commenters are probably on the right track, but it is a thinker. I have to admit that I favor the simpler proverbs. “Man with hands in pockets feel cocky all day” is a perennial favorite in my crowd.

  5. A clever crow will always paint its feathers black when trying to attract crow votes when in fact the clever crow is not a crow at all.

    like this observation

    “Few, if any, Democratic party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own.

    Bureaucracy was assailed and fiscal responsibility hailed. Even George McGovern donned sackcloth and ashes and did penance for the good people of South Dakota.

    But let’s not be so naive as to think we are witnessing a mass conversion to the principles of conservatism. Once sworn into office, the victors reverted to type.”

Comments are closed.