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IRISH SAYINGS
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Every patient is a doctor after his cure.
Neither give cherries to pigs nor advice to a fool
You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
A windy day is not the day for thatching
The old pipe gives the sweetest smoke
A scholars ink lasts longer than a martyrs blood
Take gifts with a sigh most men give to be paid
A turkey never voted for an early Christmas
What butter and whiskey will not cure there's no cure for
The longest road out is the shortest road home.
The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune
Its no use boiling your cabbage twice
Do not mistake a goats beard for a fine stallions tail
If you lie down with dogs you'll rise with fleas.
A wild goose never reared a tame gosling.
As the old cock crows the young cock learns.
A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea
If the knitter is weary the baby will have no new bonnet
Its for her own good that the cat purrs.
Even a tin knocker will shine on a dirty door
An old broom knows the dirty corners best
One beetle recognizes another
To the raven her own chick is white
When the sky falls we'll catch larks.
Any man can lose his hat in a fairy- wind.
It's difficult to choose between two blind goats.
A silent mouth is sweet to hear
Its a bad hen that won't scratch herself
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse
The fox never found a better messenger than himself
Show the fatted calf but not the thing that fattened him.
A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe
In winter the milk goes to the cow's horns
You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel
Often a cow does not take after its breed
What would a young cat do but eat mice?
If you put a silk dress on a goat he is a goat still.
Every bird as it is reared and the lark for the bog.
What is in the marrow is hard to take out of the bone.
The wood will renew the foliage it sheds.
What will come from the briar but the berry
The hand goes only where the leg goes.
You never miss the water till the well has run dry.
A king's son is not nobler than his food.
To every cow its calf; to every book its copy
Watching is a part of good play
By degrees the castles are built
When the apple is ripe, it will fall
Patience cures many an old complaint
The one who waits the fine day, will get the fine day.
Patience can conquer destiny
Patience is a plaster for all sores
For what cannot be cured patience is best
Patience is a virtue that causes no shame
Time and Patience would bring the snail to Jerusalem
Everyone praises his native land.
Peace (quietness) is worth buying.
The world's quiet and the pig is in the sty
Least said soonest mended
To the fighting man peace is sure
The end of a feast is better than the beginning of a fight
An eye is blind in another man's corner
He's more to be pitied than laughed at.
Don't tell your complaint to one who has no pity
It's better than it's want
Have it yourself, or else do without it
Possession is nine-tenths of the law
Better own a trifle than want a great deal
A wren in the hand is better than a crane to be caught.
Possession satisfies
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
It's better than the loan you couldn't get
Half a loaf is better than no bread
A live dog is better than a dead lion
A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.
Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to hell
Put a beggar on horseback and he'll go on a gallop.
Poverty parts good company
Many a defect is seen in the poor man
It's hard to take britches off bare hips
A little pleases a poor man
Poor men take to the sea; the rich to the mountains
Poverty creates sadness
Pity the man who does wrong and is poor as well
There is nothing in the world so poor as going to hell.
The thief is no danger to the beggar.
Poverty is no shame.
Shame is ever a part of poverty
Poor is the church without music
A smoky cabin, a handful of spuds and a flea-filled bed
No stopping the force of a going wheel by hand
No forcing the sea
Don't county your chickens before they are hatched
Don't bless the fish till it gets to the land
Don't build the sty until the litter comes
Praise the ripe field not the green corn
Praise the ford when you have crossed it
You must empty a box before you fill it again
The pride of women and the pride of priests
It is difficult to soothe the proud
Pride comes before a fall
Pride feels no pain The jump of a cock on the dung heap
There is no virtue in the herb that is not got in time.
A postponement till morning A postponement for ever.
It is no time to go for the doctor when the patient is dead
A promise is a debt
Proverbs cannot be contradicted
The proverb cannot be bettered
Though the proverb is abandoned, it is not falsified
The sty before the litter
If you meet a red-haired woman, you'll meet a crowd.
To be red-haired is better than to be without a head
To put off repentance is dangerous It's a small thing that
outlives a man
Those who get the name of rising early may lie all day
No dealing with a revengeful man
Don't mention him and a decent man in the one day.
A sly rogue is often in good dress
A story without an author is not worth listening to
Leave the bad tale where you found it
There is no smoke without fire
When all fruits fail welcome haws
When the fruit is scarcest, its taste is sweetest
We have a fine day more often than a kiln-cast
A soft dropping April brings milk to cows and sheep
Many a sudden change takes place on a spring day
In winter the milk goes to the cow's horns
A secret is a weapon and a friend
It is no secret that is known to three
Don't tell your secret even to a fence
Woe to the man that entrusts his secrets to a ditch
The secret of an old woman scolding
If it's a secret, it's binding
Don't tell secrets to the children of your relatives
No tree but has rotten wood enough to burn it
A man may be his own ruin
A wedge from itself splits the oak tree
A man has often cut a rod to beat himself
It's for her own good that the cat purrs
His own wound is what everyone feels soonest
What is nearest the heart is nearest the mouth
He who is best for me is he who shall get the best share
The full stomach does not understand the empty one
Sense doesn't come before age
After the gathering comes the scattering
What would shame him would turn back a funeral
A list full of gain and a village full of shame
Do not keep your tongue under your belt
A man is shy in another man's corner
A silent mouth is musical
The silent are often guilty
The silent mouth is sweet to hear
When wrathful words arise a closed mouth is soothing
The stars make no noise
Little talk is easy to cure
A closed mouth--a wise head
A silent mouth never did any harm
Strength is not enduring
Sending the goose on a message to the fox's den
Putting the fox to mind the geese
You didn't turn up when sense was being distributed
Fat is not to be had without labor
The windy day is not the day for thatching
One man's meat is another man's poison
Whoever the cap fits takes it
Better sit beside him than in his place
A short visit is best and that not too often
The eye should be blind in the home of another
It's often a man's mouth broke his nose
Don't let your tongue cut your throat
See not what you see and hear not what you hear
Never speak to the feet while the head is alive
Don't rest your eyes beyond what is your own
A greyhound finds food in its feet
The slow hound often has good qualities
Great talk and little action
Do not be talkative in an alehouse
You kissed the blarney stone
A spender gets the property of the hoarder
Let your bargain suit your purpose
Spread your cloth only as you can draw it
The waiting man thinks the time long
A watched kettle never boils
Time is a good story-teller
He who spies is the one who kills.
Treachery returns
There's trouble in every house and some in he street
Everything troubles you and the cat breaks your heart
The fox never found a better messenger than himself
Never trust a spiteful man
Even the truth may be bitter
There are two tellings to every story
Drunkenness and anger, 'tis said tell the truth
What I'm afraid to hear I'd better say first myself
Truth speaks even though the tongue were dead
Truth stands when everything else falls
It is no shame to tell the truth
Tell the truth and shame the devil
The well-filled belly has little understanding of the empty
'Tis afterwards that everything is understood
It's a bad hound that's not worth the whistling
He knows how many grains to a bushel of wheat
He couldn't drag a herring off the coals
It's just a wisp in place of a brush
It's not worth a cuckoo-spit
Better an idle house than a bad tenant
Pity him who makes his opinions a certainty
He dotes on his maiden and thinks it the moon
That's a spoon ye'll sup sorrow with yet
Willful waste makes woeful want
A shamefaced man seldom acquires wealth
The money-maker (profiteer) is never tired
The doorstep of a great house is slippery
There is misfortune only where there is wealth
Sweet is the voice of the man who has wealth
A hut is a palace to a poor man
A heavy purse makes a light heart
There's little value in the single cow
A man of one cow-a man of no cow
It's easy to knead when meal is at hand
Wind from the east is good for neither man nor beast
Going in is not the same as going out
A welcome is a debtor's face
A wise head keeps a shut mouth
Everyone is wise till he speaks
There's no wise man without a fault
He may die of wind but he'll never die of wisdom
You can't put a wide head on young shoulders
No making of a wise man
There is no thing wickeder than a woman of evil temper.
A foolish woman knows a foolish man's faults
Beef to the heels like a Mullingar heifer
Eight lives for the men and nine for the women
Everything dear is a woman's fancy
Like an Irish wolf she barks at her own shadow
She wipes the plate with the cat's tail
More hair than tit, like a mountain heifer
When the old woman is hard pressed, she has to run
It's difficult to trust a woman
Man to the hills, woman to the shore
Beat a woman with a hammer and you'll have gold
'Tis as hard to see a woman cry, as a goose go barefoot
Only a fool would prefer food to a woman
An excuse is nearer to a woman than her apron
There is nothing sharper than a woman's tongue
A woman without is she who has neither pipe nor child
A woman like a goose, a sharp pecking woman
A woman like a pig, a sleepy-headed woman
A woman like a sickle, a strong stubborn woman
A woman like a goat, a woman of rushing visits
A woman like a sheep, an affable friendly woman
A woman like a lamb, a quiet friendly woman
A woman can beat the devil
A shrew gets her wish but suffers in the getting
Do it as if there was fire in your skin
The seeking for one thing will find another
make your hay before the fine weather leaves you
Sow early and mow early
The slow horse reaches the mill
Making the beginning is one third of the work
The sweat of one's brow is what burns everyone
Everyone lays a burden on the willing horse
Speed and accuracy do not agree
Never Put off tomorrow what you can do today
I'll go there tonight for evening is speedier than morning
Be there with the day and be gone with the day
About evening a man is known
Long churning makes bad butter
Scattering is easier than gathering
The labor of the crow
Put it on your shoulder and say it is not a burden
It's no delay to stop to edge the tool
It destroys the craft not to learn it
Handfuls make a load
Don't go early or late to the well
A good beginning is half the work
Praise the young and they will make progress
Many a happy colt makes a fine horse
The young shed many skins |
IRISH CLIPART
IRISH HOME
There's a dear old land of leprechauns
And wondrous wishing wells;
And no where else on God's green earth,
There be such lakes and dells.
No wonder that the angels love
That shamrock covered shore;
It draws my heart home again,
And I love it more and more.
Have you ever heard the story of
How Ireland got its name?
Well, I'll tell you so you'll understand
From whence old Ireland came.
No wonder that I love
That dear old land across the sea;
For here's the way my dear old father
Told the tale to me:
"A little bit of heaven fell
From out the sky one day;
And it nestled on the ocean
In a spot so far away."
"And when the angels found it
It looked so sweet and fair;
They said, "Suppose we leave it?
For it looks so peaceful there."
"So they sprinkled it with stardust
Just to make the shamrocks grow;
‘Tis the only place you'll find them
No matter where you go."
"And they dotted it with silver
To make the lakes so grand;
And when they had it finished,
They called it ... "IRELAND!"
Author Unknown
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Soft words butter no parsnips but they won't harden the heart
of the cabbage either.
The dog that's always on the go, is better than the one that's
always curled up
The mason who strikes often is better than the one who strikes too
hard
Don't be ever in court or a castle without a woman to make your
excuse
Wherever there are women there's talking, and wherever there's geese
there's cackling
Irishwomen have a dispensation from the pope to wear the thick ends
of their legs downwards
The person of the greatest talk is the person of the least work
A whistling woman and a crowing hen will bring no luck to the house
they are in
Better the certainty of the straddle (packsaddle) than the mere loan
of a saddle
There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught
A tyrone woman will never buy a rabbit without a head for fear its a
cat
Marriages are all happy its having breakfast together that causes
all the trouble
It is not the most beautiful woman who has the most sense
The early riser gets through his business but not through early
rising
The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry
Nobody ever bought peace but the man who hadn't got it.
There'll be white blackbirds before an unwilling woman ties the knot
Wisdom is what makes a poor man a king, a weak person powerful, a
good generation of a bad one, a foolish man reasonable.
Though wisdom is good in the beginning it is better at the end
A little of anything isn't worth a pin; but a wee bit of sense is
worth a lot
Women are shy and shame prevents them from refusing a man.
Nature will come through the claws, and the hound will follow the
hare.
Humor to a man is like a feather pillow. It is filled with what is
easy to get but gives great comfort.
Many an Irish property was increased by the lace of a daughter's
petticoat.
The best way to keep loyalty in a man's heart is to keep money in
his purse.
A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig.
A man with a loud laugh makes truth itself seem folly. Truth is
great and will win out
A poem ought to be well made at first, for there is many a one to
spoil it afterwards.
There is not a tree in heaven higher than the tree of patience
No matter who succeeds or fails, the peacemaker will always suffer
There never was an old slipper but there was an old stocking to
match it
Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you
wont see the dust on the floor.
Autumn days come quickly like the running of a hound on the moor
A misty winter brings a pleasant spring, a pleasant winter a misty
spring
If you have one pair of good soles its better than two
pairs of good uppers
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with
your neighbor. It makes you shoot at your landlord and it
makes you miss him.
There's no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied
down.
The Irish forgive their great men when they are safely buried.
It s no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking
He was never good since the time a yard (of cloth) made a
coat for him She would drink the cream and say the cat she
had was an old rogue
The horse with the most scars is the one that highest kicks his rear
The person who brings a story to you will take away two from you.
He got it from nature as the pig got the rooting in the ground.
Men are like bagpipes no sound comes from them until they're full
Snuff at a wake is fine if there's nobody sneezing over the snuff
box
It's as hard to see a woman crying as it is to see a barefooted
duck
He'd offer you an egg if you promised not to break the shell
No matter how often a pitcher goes to the water it is broken in the
end
There was never a scabby sheep in a flock that didn't like to have a
comrade
One who is without cows must be his own dog. A blind man can see his
mouth. It's better to be sorry and stay than to be sorry and go
away.
Remember even if you loose all, keep your good name for if you loose
that you are worthless. Don't throw out the dirty water until you
have the clean water in
It's better to return from the centre of the ford than drown in the
flood When a man gets his feet in lime he cannot easily get rid of
it
Women are stronger than men, they do not die of wisdom
One pair of good soles is worth two pairs of upper leathers
Without pressing too little or too hard, hold tight the reins for
he's a fool who would not get value from a borrowed horse No-one
is ever poor who has the sight of his eyes and the use of his feet A
poor man never yet lost his property Patience and forbearance make
a bishop of his reverence Keep your tongue in your jaw and your
tow in your pump. Many a time the man with ten cows has overtaken
the man with forty (cows) He knows the price of everything and the
value of nothing A dishonest woman can't be kept in and an honest
woman won't A bad woman (wife) drinks a lot of her own bad
butter-milk Food is no more important than wisdom The beginning of
wisdom is the fear of God Better April showers than the breadth of
the ocean in gold
Better for a man to have even a dog welcome him than a dog bark at
him You can keep away from the rogue, but you cannot keep yourself
safe from the liar. The bird that can sing and won't sing should
be made to sing It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house
of a man whose father was hanged Don't say everything you want to
say lest you hear something you would not like to hear A cat
between two houses, a rabbit between two holes, the two liveliest
The man who was dividing Ireland didn't leave himself last There's
neither success nor efficiency without authority and laws Better
is the trouble that follows death than the trouble that follows
shame Two things that go for loss-turf on a mountain and the
wisdom of a poor man.
Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.
Irish Saying
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