Literal translation for this proverb could be: "Rotten teeth are powerful against ripe bananas.”

Teeth are the furniture of the mouth, according to Haitian people. They are very important, and people care about them very much. But because of poor care, ignorance, genetics, or other factors, teeth can lose their vitality, their strength, their color, and their effectiveness. In these situations, they cannot do much against strong foods, but they still can crush well-done food and soft fruits like bananas.

Haitian people say this proverb when they see that a weak person is challenging someone that is weaker than him/her or when an unfortunate is mistreating a less fortunate. Because in general, people do not like to face someone stronger than them.

We are happy that one day, we will be living in a society of justice where people won’t see others as rivals anymore and won’t want to take advantage of them.