The squeaky wheel

what does it mean in english? bribing?

Mathilda,
It means that if you complain about a situation, there is a chance that someone will correct the situation. Unless you complain, nothing will be done to help you.

aha. cheers

It also means that those who complain the loudest get the most help or get special favors. It's sometimes written "the squeaky wheel gets the oil."

Imagine a wagon with four wheels. All four wheels are in need of grease, but only one of them makes a noise. That wheel will get the grease, but the other 3 will be ignored because they are silent. Or, the wagon owner may think "the front left wheel always squeaks, so I will give it extra grease this time."

ETA: the opposite proverb is "the nail that sitcks up gets hammered down." It may be that your Asian co-workers relate culturally more to this proverb; that is, that wheel squeaking is not really a concept they are familiar with.

the figurative meaning must bet perfectly clear to anyone who's been to school. the teachers will always aud the boy in the front row who amost ejacuates all over himself with his finger raised "äh äh i know it!", they never suspect that the stoned kid in the back row might be the smarter one ;)

i don't get the "opposite" one necessarily tho... (explain please?)

#5 -- I've heard that that's a Japanese proverb meaning it doesn't pay to stand out from the crowd.

And the teacher may well suspect or even know that the stoned kid in the back row is smarter. But being smart doesn't necessarily impress most teachers if you're not willing to put it to use.

problem is that the teacher usually is reluctant to realise that her own teaching methods might be stupefying to such a degree as to be at the root of the juvenile intoxication in front of her eyes, and thus of the falling into disuse of the pupils capabilities...

The nail & hammer phrase is sometimes attributed to Confucius. I have seen it in reference to several Asian societies where self-effacement, harmony, and the welfare of the group are valued above individuality. In such cases, the squeaky wheel is likely to be taken off the wagon and thrown away because of its difference, instead of getting extra grease. In other words, don't call attention to yourself and you will not be harmed. Don't stand out from the group or the group itself will be harmed.

Don't the Australians have a similar idea with the tall poppy syndrome?

I saw the movie Forest Gump in Japan, and the audience went wild in a scene where he talks about being a square peg in a round hole. Apparently the translation encorporated not only that but also the nail that sticks up concept. It was a lot funnier in Japanese than in English, I guess.