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I'm watching a TV drama that references a local proverb I don't understand.
The scenario is 1930's Choushi region. The discussion is about the differences
between wealthy landowners and the poor who had none.

> Choushi has an amusing saying for that.

> **「カラスにぶつける土もねえ。 猫がそべぐるほどもねえ」**

Then one of them asks:

> 「猫がそべぐる」とは？ 「寝そべる」つうこった。

> 土地持ちでねえ人間の事を バカにして そう言うんだ。 (In such a way, human beings who own land look
> down on others.)

So I am wondering if that is the proverb's meaning, or something else?

And what is the literal translation? It seems to involve a crow crashing into
the ground, and then a cat doing something with it.
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2021-08-19T23:53:00.340
88971
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question
meaning
What is the literal translation and meaning of this proverb?
Additional difficulty other than those mentioned in the comments might be 土
means soil in the first sentence and 土地 (in the sense of empty space) is
omitted in the second (猫がそぐべるほど **の土地** ).

The first sentence:

  * カラスにぶつける : throw at crows (a relative clause modifying 土)
  * 土もねえ : there is no soil

The second:

  * 猫がそぐべるほど : a cat can lie on (a relative clause modifying the implicit 土地)
  * (の土地)もねえ : there is no land

In full, _There is no soil to (scoop up and) throw at crows. There is no land
where a cat can lie_. Both mean how small the land is. I'm not sure of the
context, but it sounds like at least there is some land, but making fun of how
small it is (which is not consistent with the following lines). The sayings
(if real) are not current.

==

  * 土地持ちでねえ人間の事を バカにして そう言うんだ。

Your reading is fine, but 土地持ちでねえ人間 = _non-land owners_ and そう言うんだ = _people
say_ , so a more faithful translation would be _People say these (proverbs),
mocking those who don't own lands._

==

A current simile that comes to my mind is 猫の額ほどの土地 _land of the size of a
cat's forehead_ , which means a tiny land.
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answer