Still waters, deep and dangerous

Much like the saying ‘she’s a dark horse’, the English expression ‘still waters run deep’ is used to refer to an individual who is quiet on the outside, but has a great amount of hidden talent bubbling away under the surface. From dinner parties to political parties, it’s often the people who are most unassuming, modest or gentle, who have the power to take control or assume leadership when you least expect them to.

 

In Italian, this expression manifests itself as ‘l’acqua cheta rovina i ponti’, which translates as ‘still waters ruin bridges’. While it’s easy to imagine raging torrents of water or pounding waves eroding a coastline or the foundations of a bridge, water that doesn’t appear to move can still cause damage beneath the surface. This potentially makes it even more dangerous. After all, if no-one suspects the current beneath the water, when the bridge collapses it will be more of a shock. A reminder that even the quietest people should never be underestimated.