（按：此為我讀研究生一年級時交外教之英文課命題作文功課，畢業前清理雜物時再度發現，姑錄之。）

“男兒口大食四方，女兒口大食窮郎” is one of my favorite proverbs. This proverb does not exist in Mandarin Chinese, but only in Cantonese, which pronounces as [nam²² ji²² hɐu³⁵ tai³¹ sik³¹ sei³³ fɔŋ⁵³, nœi¹³ ji²² hɐu³⁵ tai³¹ sik³¹ kuŋ²² lɔŋ²²]. Translated in English, it means “a man with a big mouth can win (eat) anywhere, while a woman with a big mouth will eat out the wealth of her husband”.

This is an old Cantonese proverb. Today we only use it for joking. However, in the past, it was not funny at all. Actually, this proverb reflects the sexism in people’s mind at that time. The point of the proverb is the second half of it. People believe that a woman with a big mouth eats much and brings no good luck, so men should not marry a “big mouth woman”. On the other hand, it didn’t matter at all for a man to have a big or small mouth.

This proverb still exists today only because Cantonese people like speaking rhymes, which sound humorous, and that’s why I like it too. Now not every Cantonese youth know this phrase, and “a big mouth” is no longer a shame for women. I sometimes use these words just to make my friends laugh, and this makes our life fun.

外教評語：Humorous! Do you think this “proverb” will ever influence you in any way?

“Big mouth” in the U.S. can refer to anyone who speaks too loud or spreads gossip!

Your overall writing skill / grammar is very good – keep refining!