Be a big fish in a small pond

Always nice to get questions, and today I got one listed below.

I am reading a book called “Perfect Rigor” and there is this one sentence said by a character that I couldn’t really put on my hands on. He (a Jewish man) said: “It’s the shtetl dream…Learn the fiddle and play at weddings and funerals”. What could this sentence possibly mean?

Shtetl is a Yiddish word for a small town so basically the shtetl dream in relation to the rest of your question is the person basically wants to become a “big fish” in a small town and play at weddings and funerals. In other words, his dream is to play at many people’s weddings and funerals.

I would need to read the book to understand the context, but that is what I would answer this question as with the information at hand.

If anyone knows a beter answer, please do comment below.

Reference Me

Kyle ben Avraham Avinu (קייל בן אברהם אבינו) (2012) Be a big fish in a small pond. [online] Ask a Jew. Available at: https://askajew.co.uk/question/be-a-big-fish-in-a-small-pond/ [Accessed 28 Mar 2024]