Part 5
Drink and drouth come na aye thegither.
Drink little, that ye may drink lang.
Drive the swine through't.
"You should sift Jamie's tender passion--that's the novelle-name for calf-love; and if it's within the compass o' a possibility, get the swine driven through't, or it may work us a' muckle dule, as his father's moonlight marriage did to your ain, worthy man!"--_The Entail._
Drunk at e'en and dry in the morning.
Drunk folk seldom tak harm.
The French say, "God helps three kinds of people: fools, children, and drunkards;" and another of our own states that "God's aye kind to fu' folk and bairns."
Dry bargains bode ill.
A bargain in times gone by was not "lucky," unless ratified by a drink.
Dummie canna lee.
Dunse dings a'.
"It may be mentioned that this is only the opinion which the people of Dunse entertain of the town, as their neighbours, in general, scout the idea with great indignation."--_Robert Chambers._ There are several local additions to this saying, such as "Dunse dings a' for braw lads and drucken wives;" "for gude yill and bonnie lasses," &c.
[Illustration]
Eagles catch nae fleas.
Spoken of conceited people who affect disdain for petty details.
Eagles flee alane, but sheep herd thegither.
Early birds catch the worms.
Early crooks the tree, that good cammock should be.
Early maister, lang servant.
Early sow, early mow.
East or west, hame is best.
East and wast, the sign o' a blast; north and south, the sign o' a drouth.
Easy learning the cat the road to the kirn.
When the natural inclination tends towards any particular subject, it assists the learner greatly.
Eat and welcome--fast and twice as welcome.
Eaten meat is ill to pay.
"Eaten bread is soon forgotten."--_Italian._
Eating, drinking, and cleaning need but a beginning.
Eat in measure and defy the doctor.
Eat peas wi' the prince and cherries wi' the chapman.
Eats meat, an's never fed; wear claes, an's never cled.
Of some people it may be said, that "they put their meat in an ill skin;" for, notwithstanding that they live well, they appear always thin and hungry, and not at all, to use a Scotticism, "like their meat." Some people are equally unfortunate with regard to their clothing; always amply dressed, they seem the very reverse.
Eat till ye sweat and work till ye freeze.
Eat-weel's Drink-weel's brither.
Signifying that good drinking must necessarily go hand in hand with good eating.
Eat your fill and pouch nane, is gardener's law.
E'en as ye won't, sae ye may wear't.
As you won it, so you may wear it; applied either in a good or bad sense.
E'ening grey and a morning red, put on your hat or ye'll weet your head.
E'ening orts are gude morning's fodder.
"Orts," rejected provender. Meaning that a thing which is rejected or despised at present may be acceptable or valuable at another time.
E'ening red an' a morning grey is taiken sure o' a bonnie day.
E'en pickle in your ain pock-neuk.
"'Ye'll find the stane breeks and the iron garters--ay, and the hemp cravat, for a' that, neighbour,' replied the bailie. 'Nae man in a civilised country ever played the pliskies ye hae done; but e'en pickle in your ain pock-neuk--I hae gi'en ye warning.'"--_Rob Roy._
Eident youth maks easy age.
"Industry is the parent of fortune."--_German._
Eild and poortith are a sair burden for ae back.
"Eild and poortith," age and poverty. "Poverty on an old man's back is a heavy burden."--_English._
Eild and poortith's sair to thole.
This saying is of similar import to the preceding one. Literally, age and poverty are hard to bear.
Eild should hae honour.
Either live or die wi' honour.
Either prove a man or a mouse.
Either win the horse or tine the saddle.
Win the horse or lose the saddle. "Neck or nothing."
Eith keeping the castle that's no besieged.
"It is easy to sit at the helm in fair weather."--_Danish._
Eith learned soon forgotten.
"Easy come, easy go."--_English._
Eith to that thy ain heart wills.
Eith working when will's at hame.
The two preceding maxims have a similar meaning to the French sayings, that "Will is power;" and "A willing heart helps work." "Where the will is ready the feet are light."--_German._
Ell and tell is gude merchandise.
Ell and tell is ne'er forgotten, and the best pay's on the peck bottom.
"Ell and tell," if we mistake not, refers to good measure and prompt payment; and the latter saying may be construed thus:--The grain is emptied from the "peck" measure, the measure is inverted, and payment for the grain is "told" on the bottom of it.
Enough's as gude as a feast.
Enough's enough o' bread and cheese.
Meaning, that too much of one thing is not good. The French and Dutch say, "Enough is better than too much," while the Italians are of opinion that "Enough is enough, and too much spoils."
Envy shoots at a high mark.
Even stands his cap the day, for a' that.
"It took its rise from a minister in our country, who, in a sermon preached most fiercely against the supremacy of the Pope, at the conclusion said, 'Even stands his cap for all that I have said, drinking good Romany wine this day.' Applied when we signify that all we can say against any great man can do him no harm."--_Kelly._
Ever busy, ever bare.
"Great cry and little wool."--_English._
Every ane loups the dyke where it's laighest.
Every one leaps the wall at the lowest part,--a man may "loup the dyke" by oppressing those who are unable to resist.
Every bird thinks its ain nest best.
Every cock craws crousiest on his ain midden head.
"Every cock crows loudest on his own dunghill," is a saying common to all nations.
Every craw thinks his ain bird whitest.
All think well of their own offspring. "Every mother's child is handsome," say the Germans. They also have, "No ape but swears he has the finest children."
Every day is no Yule day; cast the cat a castock.
The first half of this proverb is used literally by the Italians and Dutch. A "castock" is the stalk or core of a cabbage.
Every dog has its day.
Every dud bids anither gude-day.
Every fault has its fore.
Every flow has its ebb.
Every Jack will find a Jill.
"'Never you fash your thumb about that, Maister Francie,' returned the landlady with a knowing wink, 'every Jack will find a Jill, gang the world as it may; and, at the warst o't, better hae some fashery in finding a partner for the night, than get yoked with ane that you may not be able to shake off the morn.'"--_St Ronan's Well._
Every land has its laigh; every corn has its ain caff.
Meaning that everything may be found fault with; and silly objections be raised against the most valuable and useful things.
Every man bows to the bush he gets beild frae.
"Every one pays court to him who gives him protection."--_Jamieson._
Every man buckles his belt his ain gate.
Every man does his work after his own fashion.
Every man can guide an ill wife weel but him that has her.
Every man can tout best on his ain horn.
"Tout," to blow. Meaning, that every man knows best how to tell his own story.
Every man for himself, and God for us a'.
Every man for his own hand, as Henry Wynd fought.
"Two great clans fought out a quarrel with thirty men of a side, in presence of the king, on the North Inch of Perth, on or about the year 1392; a man was amissing on one side, whose room was filled by a little bandy-legged citizen of Perth. This substitute, Henry Wynd--or, as the Highlanders called him, _Gow Chrom_, that is, the bandy-legged smith--fought well, and contributed greatly to the fate of the battle, without knowing which side he fought on;--so, 'To fight for your ain hand, like Henry Wynd,' passed into a proverb."--_Sir Walter Scott, Note to Rob Roy._
Every man has his ain bubbly-jock.
Every man has his ain draff poke, though some hang eider than others.
The two last sayings are similar in meaning, viz., that every man has his imperfections or faults. The latter qualifies the proverb by admitting that in some these appear more prominently than in others.
Every man kens best where his ain sair lies.
Every man kens best where his ain shoe binds him.
Every man's blind to his ain cause.
Every man's man had a man, and that gar'd the Threave fa'.
"The Threave was a strong castle belonging to the Black Douglases. The governor left a deputy, and he a substitute, by whose negligence the castle was taken."--_Kelly._
Every man's no born wi' a siller spoon in his mouth.
Every man's nose winna be a shoeing horn.
Certain things can only be used for certain purposes.
Every man's tale's gude till anither's tauld.
Every man thinks his ain craw blackest.
"Every man to his ain trade," quo' the browster to the bishop.
Every man to his taste, as the man said when he kiss'd his cow.
Every maybe hath a may not be.
Every miller wad weise the water to his ain mill.
"Every miller draws the water to his own mill."--_English._
Every play maun be played, and some maun be the players.
Every shoe fits not every foot.
Every sow to her ain trough.
People should keep their own place; or, according to Ray, "Every man should support himself, and not hang upon another."
Everything has a beginning.
Everything has an end, and a pudding has twa.
Everything has its time, and sae has a rippling-kame.
"Rippling-kame," a coarse comb used in the preparation of flax. The proverb means that there is a time _proper_ for everything.
Everything is the waur o' the wear.
That is, worse for wearing.
Everything wad fain live.
Every wight has his weird, and we maun a' dee when our day comes.
Evil words cut mair than swords.
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in nae ither.
[Illustration]
Facts are chiels that winna ding.
Faint heart ne'er wan fair lady.
Fair an' foolish, black an' proud, lang an' lazy, little an' loud.
How far this proverb is borne out by fact is certainly open to question. It appears in Ray's collection as English, and as a remark upon it he says, "Beauty and folly do often go hand in hand, and are often matched together."
Fair and softly gangs far.
"Who goes softly goes safely, and he that goes safely goes far."--_Italian._
Fair exchange is nae robbery.
Fair fa' gude drink, for it gars folk speak as they think.
"Fair fa'," well betide; good luck to. This is the Scotch version of the common saying, "When the wine is in, the wit is out;" or, "What is in the heart of the sober man is on the tongue of the drunken man."--_Latin._
"Leeze me on drink! it gi'es us mair Than either school or college, It kindles wit, it waukens lair, It pangs us fu' o' knowledge: Be't whisky gill, or penny wheep, Or ony stronger potion, It never fails, on drinking deep, To kittle up our notion, By night or day."--_Burns._
Fair fa' the wife, and weel may she spin, that counts aye the lawin' wi' a pint to come in.
Literally, good luck to the hostess who includes a pint _still to come_ when the reckoning is called for. This saying, so far as we can discover, is exclusively Scottish.
Fair fa' you, and that's nae fleaching.
"Fleach," to flatter. A good wish sincerely expressed.
Fair folk are aye foisonless.
Kelly says of the word "foisonless," that it means "without strength or sap; dried up; withered." Scott, in _Old Mortality_, uses it in the moral sense, "unsubstantial."
Fair gae they, fair come they, and aye their heels hindmost.
Meaning that they go and come regularly, decently, and in order.
Fair hair may hae foul roots.
Fair hechts mak fools fain.
"_Hope_ puts that haste into zour heid, Quhilk boyls zour barmy brain; Howbeit fulis haste cums huly speid, Fair hechts will mak fulis fain."--_Cherrie and the Slae._
Fair in the cradle may be foul in the saddle.
Fair maidens wear nae purses.
Fair words are nae cause o' feuds.
Fair words hurt ne'er a bane, but foul words break mony a ane.
Fair words winna mak the pat boil.
Falkirk bairns dee ere they thrive.
Falkirk bairns mind naething but mischief.
Fa' on the feeblest, the beetle among the bairns.
"Spoken when we do a thing at a venture, that may be good for some and bad for another; and let the event fall upon the most unfortunate. Answers to the English 'Among you blind harpers.'"--_Kelly._
Fancy flees before the wind.
Fancy was a bonnie dog, but Fortune took the tail frae't.
Fann'd fires and forced love ne'er dae weel.
Far ahint maun follow the faster.
Far ahint that mayna follow, an' far before that canna look back.
Far awa fowls hae fair feathers.
"She wad vote the border knight, Though she should vote her lane; For far-off fowls hae feathers fair, And fools o' change are fain."--_Burns._
Far frae court far frae care.
Far frae my heart's my husband's mother.
Far sought and dear bought is gude for ladies.
Farewell frost, fair weather neist.
Fare-ye-well, Meg Dorts, and e'en's ye like.
A jocose adieu to those who go away in the sulks.
Farmer's fauch gars lairds laugh.
Farther east the shorter west.
Farthest frae the kirk aye soonest at it.
In contradistinction to those who are "near the kirk but far frae grace."
Fashious fools are easiest flisket.
Troublesome or fretful persons are easily offended.
Fast bind, fast find.
This saying is very old, and common to many countries. Shakespeare terms it "a proverb never stale to thrifty minds."
Fat flesh freezes soon.
Fat hens are aye ill layers.
Fat paunches bode lean pows.
Ray explains this by adding, "Full bellies make empty skulls."
Fause folk should hae mony witnesses.
Fausehood maks ne'er a fair hinder-end.
Meaning, that falsehood is sure to be exposed in the long run.
Favours unused are favours abused.
Feather by feather the goose is plucked.
February, fill the dike, be it black or be it white; if it's white, it's the better to like.
Feckfu' folk can front the bauldest wind.
"I own 'tis cauld encouragement to sing, When round ane's lugs the blattran' hailstanes ring; But feckfu' folk can front the bauldest wind, An' slunk through muirs, an' never fash their mind." --_Allan Ramsay._
Feckless folk are fain o' ane anither.
"Feckless folk," silly people. Fools are fond of one another.
Feckless fools should keep canny tongues.
Silly or mischievous people should be cautious what they say.
Feed a cauld, but hunger a colic.
Feeding out o' course maks mettle out o' kind.
Feeling has nae fellow.
Few get what they glaum at.
Fiddlers, dogs, and flesh-flies come aye to feasts unca'd.
Fiddler's fare--meat, drink, and money.
Fiddler's wives and gamester's drink are free to ilka body.
Fight dog, fight bear; wha wins, deil care.
Fill fu' and haud fu', maks the stark man.
Plenty of meat and drink makes a strong man.
Fine feathers mak fine birds.
Fine to fine maks a bad line.
Or, "Butter to butter's nae kitchen," _q. v._
Fire and water are gude servants but ill maisters.
Fire is gude for the fireside.
All things are good in their proper places.
First come, first ser'd.
Fish guts an' stinkin' herrin' are bread and milk for an Eyemouth bairn.
"The small seaport town of Eyemouth was formerly distinguished for its 'ancient fishlike smells,' its narrow, intricate streets, and smuggling trade."--_G. Henderson._
Fish maun soom thrice.
First in water, second in sauce, third in wine.
Fleas and a girning wife are waukrife bedfellows.
Flee as fast as you will, your fortune will be at your tail.
Fleying a bird is no the way to grip it.
To frighten a bird is not the way to catch it; severity or constant threatening do not tend to make children or servants better.
Fling at the brod was ne'er a gude ox.
Flit an auld tree and it'll wither.
Flitting o' farms mak mailens dear.
See "As ane flits," &c., of which this is merely a variation.
Folk are aye free to gie what's no their ain.
Folk maun grow auld or dee.
Folk's dogs bark waur than themsels.
Folk should never ask for mair than they can make a good use o'.
Follow love and it will flee thee: flee love and it will follow thee.
Folly is a bonnie dog, but a bad ane.
Fools and bairns shouldna see half-dune wark.
Fools are aye fond o' flittin', and wise men o' sittin'.
Fools are aye fortunate.
Fools are aye seeing ferlies.
Fools are fain o' flattery.
Fools are fain o' naething.
Fools are fond o' a' they forgather wi'.
Fools aye see ither folk's fauts and forget their ain.
Fools big houses and wise men buy them.
Fools' haste is nae speed.
Fools laugh at their ain sport.
Fools mak feasts and wise men eat them.
"This was once said to a great man in Scotland, upon his giving an entertainment. He readily answered, 'Wise men make proverbs, and fools repeat them.'"--_Kelly._
Fools ravel and wise men redd.
Literally, fools entangle affairs and circumstances, and require "wise men" to assist them out of their troubles.
Fools set far trysts.
Fools shouldna hae chappin-sticks.
For as gude again, like Sunday milk.
"A precise woman in the country would not sell her milk on the Sunday, but would give it for as good again. Spoken when we suspect people's kindness to be mercenary."--_Kelly._
For a tint thing, carena.
Do not fret about a thing or opportunity which has been lost.
For better acquaintance' sake, as Sir John Ramsay said when he drank to his father.
"Sir John Ramsay had been long abroad, and coming home he accidentally met with his father, who did not know him; he invites his father to a glass of wine, and drinks to him for more acquaintance."--_Kelly._
Forbid a fool a thing, an' that he'll do.
Force without foresight aften fails.
Forewarned is forearmed.
For fashion's sake, as dogs gae to market.
For faut o' wise men fools sit on binks.
Forgotten pain, when follows gain.
For gude cheese and cheer mony haunt the house.
Many frequent the house for the sake of what they get to eat.
For my ain pleasure, as the man thrashed his wife.
For puir folk they seldom ring.
Fortune and futurity are no to be guessed at.
Fortune favours the brave.
Fortune gains the bride.
Fortune helps the hardy.
"For I haif aft hard suith men say, And we may see oursells, That fortune helps the hardy aye, And pultrones aye repels."--_Cherrie and the Slae._
For want o' a steek a shoe may be tint.
"A stitch in time saves nine." The old nursery lines fully explain the philosophy of this doctrine. "For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the man was lost."
Foster the guest that stays--further him that maun gang.
Foul fa' nought, and then he'll get naething.
Used in satirical allusion to those who expect a legacy from a very improbable source.
Foul water slockens fire.
Frae saving comes having.
Frae the teeth forward.
He speaks from the lips only, not from the heart.
Freedom's a fair thing.
Fresh fish and poor friends soon grow ill-faur'd.
Fresh fish and unwelcome friends stink before they're three days auld.
Friday flit, short time sit.
Meaning that to remove on a Friday is unlucky.
Friday rules Sunday.
Friends are like fiddle-strings, they mauna be screwed ower ticht.
Friends gree best separate.
Friendship canna stand aye on ae side.
Frost and fausehood hae baith a dirty wa' gang.
Fry stanes wi' butter and the broo will be gude.
Fu' o' courtesy, fu' o' craft.
[Illustration]
Gae shoe the goose.
Gae hap and hang yoursel, then you'll dee dancing.
Gae kiss your Lucky--she lives in Leith.
"A cant phrase, from what rise I know not, but it is made use of when one thinks it is not worth while to give a distinct answer, or think themselves foolishly accused."--_Allan Ramsay._
Gae to bed wi' the lamb and rise wi' the laverock.
Gae to the deil, and he'll bishop you.
Meaning, that the person addressed is so well versed in evil ways as to be able to occupy a high position in the service of the Evil One.
Gae to the deil, for his name's sake.
Gane is the goose that laid the muckle egg.
Gang farther and fare waur.
Gardener's law--Eat your fill, but pouch nane.
Gar wood's ill to grow; chuckie stanes are ill to chow.
Gather haws before the snaws.
Gathering gear is weel liket wark.
Acquiring wealth is pleasant employment.
Gaunting bodes wanting ane o' things three--sleep, meat, or gude companie.
Yawning is proverbially supposed to indicate the want of one of the three things mentioned.
Gaunting gaes frae man to man.
Gawsie cow, gudely calf.
Handsome mother, goodly daughter.
Gaylie would be better.
When a person says he is "gaylie," _Anglice_, middling, he is understood not to be so well as he would like to be.
Gear is easier gotten than guided.
Gentlemen are unco scant when a wabster gets a lady.
The "wabster," or weaving profession, seems to have stood very low in the estimation of proverb makers.
Gentle partans hae lang taes.
Gentle servants are poor men's hardships.
Gentle servants are rich men's tinsel.
Gentry's dowff wi' an empty purse.
Get the word o' soon rising, an' ye may lie in bed a' day.
Obtain a reputation for early rising, and you may lie in bed all day. The Spanish say, "Get a good name, and go to sleep."
Get and save, and thou wilt have.
"Get and saif and thou salt haif, Len and grant and thou salt want; Wha in his plenty taks not heid, He sall haif falt in time of need."--_The Evergreen._
Get weel, keep weel.
Get what you can, and keep what you hae, that's the way to get rich.
Get your rock and spindle ready, God will send the tow.
"Let us do our duty, and refer the rest to God's providence."--_Ray._
Gibbie's grace--Deil claw the clungiest.
This saying of the graceless Gibbie means literally, "Devil take the hungriest."
Gie a bairn his will, and a whelp its fill, and nane o' them will e'er do weel.
Gie a beggar a bed, and he'll pay you wi' a louse.
Gie a carl your finger, and he'll take your haill hand.
Gie a gaun man a drink, and a rising man a knock.
Gie a greedy dog a muckle bane.
Gie a thing, tak a thing, and that's the ill man's ring.
"Gie her her will, or she'll burst," quo' the man when his wife kamed his head with the three-legged stool.
Gie him a hole, and he'll find a pin.
That is, give him an opportunity, and he will take advantage of it.
Gie him an inch, and he'll tak an ell.
Gie him tow enough, and he'll hang himsel.
Gie is a gude fellow, but he soon wearies.
Meaning, that one tires of giving at all times.
Gie losin' gamesters leave to talk.
Giff gaff maks gude friends.
Gie my cousin kail enow, and see my cousin's dish be fu'.
We presume that this is an ironical signification that the cousin's "room" is preferred to his company.
Gie ne'er the wolf the wedder to keep.
Gie ower when the play's gude.