Työläs on sinun potkia tutkainta vastaan.
--
Traditional Finnish proverb
Stop giggling -- the proverb originates from
an old Finnish translation of the New Testament, in which Jesus
consoles Saul with these words (Acts 26:14).
A tutkain
is a nearly obsolete word that means a pointed stick used by
shepherds to guide their flock. (Newer translations use
pistin, bayonet, instead.)
In English, this was rendered by
the KJV Bible as a prick, long before the word acquired its
modern connotations.
At any rate, whenever a random authority
is intent on doing something very much against someone's interests,
this proverb is used to console the loser.
This is also used --
perhaps even more commonly -- when somebody suggests changing
an existing system to eliminate or reduce injustice.
"That's the way it was when I had to deal with it, so shut up
and take it like a man." Those who use this phrase in this way
are quite literally telling people to be good little sheep and
conform.