Douglas Bissell May 1, 2011:

Veratek, That was my first reading of the phrase "beauty in the eye of the beholder" etc. but I quickly realised I was wrong. (happens!)

Muriel Vasconcellos Apr 30, 2011:

@Verginia By all means, you should post that.

Marlene Curtis Apr 30, 2011:

... Good point...

veratek Apr 30, 2011:

what came to my mind I didn't know this proverb (in any language). When I first read it on the kudoz page, I thought it was a great proverb to convey something completely different.
I imagined a selfish and insensitive cattle owner, heavyset, who has plenty to eat and an easy life, but, out of avarice, gives his cattle the minimum amount of food. They, on the contrary, are hungry and thin. However, the cattle owner is blind and indifferent to their hunger and distress. So, in his mind (and therefore in his eye), his cattle is doing just fine and, thus, they are fattened by his imagination!

Marlene Curtis Apr 30, 2011:

Good job Verginia! They all convey exactly the same meaning as the Brazilian proverb!

Douglas Bissell Apr 30, 2011:

Great research Verginia. All those proverbs sound really good!

Verginia Ophof Apr 30, 2011:

the eye of the master fattens the cattle It is a proverb that has several variations. It's origins are most likely Italian.

The eye of the master fattens the horse.
- Proverb, (Italian)
The eye of the master fattens the steed.
- Proverb, (French, Spanish)
The eye of the master makes the horse fat, and that of the mistress the chambers neat.
- Proverb, (Dutch)
The eye of the master makes the horse fat.
- Proverb, (Danish)
http://www.giga-usa.com/quotes/topics/proverbs_t304.htm

Muriel Vasconcellos Apr 30, 2011:

IMO I think the meaning is more about keeping an eye out to make sure it's done right; the "dono" can have someone else do the grunt work, but he still supervises closely.