to be mindful of one's surroundings and circumstances to choose the right options
köken: Literally, “to consider the amount of rice one has in order to pick the right amount of sidedish”. Compare English don't bite off more than one can chew, German Man muss sich nach der Decke strecken.
İrlandacais mó de bhéal ná do bholg
İzlandacareisa sér hurðarás um öxl
cmn好高騖遠 /好高骛远, 貪多嚼不爛 /贪多嚼不烂
yue眼闊肚窄 /眼阔肚窄
Etimoloji
ta (“take”) + sig (“oneself”) + vatten (“water”) + över (“over”) + huvudet (“the head”)