Irish Proverbs
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
Soft words butter no parsnips but they won't harden the heart of the cabbage either.
You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
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
A windy day is not the day for thatching
The old pipe gives the sweetest smoke
Marriages are all happy its having breakfast together that causes all the trouble
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 Irish forgive their great men when they are safely buried.
The longest road out is the shortest road home.
The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune
It's no use boiling your cabbage twice
There's no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down.
Do not mistake a goats beard for a fine stallions tail
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.
If you lie down with dogs you'll rise with fleas.
A wild goose never reared a tame gosling.
A boys best friend is his mother and there's no spancel stronger than her apron string.
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.
As the old cock crows the young cock learns.
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 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.
If you have one pair of good soles its better than two pairs of good uppers
It s no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking
It's difficult to choose between two blind goats.
A silent mouth is sweet to hear
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
Its a bad hen that won't scratch herself
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
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse
The fox never found a better messenger than himself
There'll be white blackbirds before an unwilling woman ties the knot
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
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
You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel
He got it from nature as the pig got the rooting in the ground.
Often a cow does not take after its breed
What would a young cat do but eat mice?
Nature will come through the claws, and the hound will follow the hare.
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.
A handstaff of holly, a buailtin of hazel,a single sheaf and a clean floor.
One who is without cows must be his own dog. A blind man can see his mouth.
You never miss the water till the well has run dry.
A king;s son is not nobler than his food.
Keep your tongue in your jaw and your tow in your pump.
Pity the man who has a stranger's spancel on him.
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 and forbearance make a bishop of his reverence
Patience can conquer desiny
Patience is a plaster for all sores
For what cannot be cured patience is best
There is not a tree in heaven higher than the tree of patience
Patience is a virtue that causes no shame
Time and Patience would bring the snail to Jerusalem
Everyone praises his native land.
Nobody ever bought peace but the man who hadn't got it.
Peace(quietness) is worth buying.
The world's quiet and the pig is in the sty
Least said soonest mended
No matter who succeeds or fails, the peacemaker will always suffer
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
One eye in the orner is sharper than two about the house
He's more to be pitied than laughed at.
Don't tell your complaint to one who has no pity
A poem ought to be well made at first, for there is many a one to spoil it afterwards.
It's better than it's want
Have it yourself, or else do without it
Better the certainty of the straddle (packsaddle) than the mere loan of a saddle
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 beter 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
The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry
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 woorld so poor as going to hell.
The thief is no danger to the beggar.
Poverty is no shame.
Two things that go for loss-turf on a mountain and the wisdom of a poor man.
Shame is ever a part of poverty
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
Poor is the church without music
A smokey 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 dungheap
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
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
The sty before the litter
If you meet a red-harird 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 better to be sorry and stay than to be sorry and go away.
It's a small thing that outlives a man
Remembmber even if you loose all, keep your good name for if you loose that you are worthless.
Those who get the name of rising early may lie all day
When a man gets his feet in lime he cannot easily get rid of it
No dealing with a revengeful man
He was never good since the time a yard(of cloth) made a coat for him
Don't mention him and a decent man in the one day.
A sly rogue is often in good dress
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.
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
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
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
Fences(ditches)have ears
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
The man who was dividing Ireland didn't leave himself last
Sense doesn't come before age
After the gathering comes the scatering
What would shame him would turn back a funeral
A list full of gain and a village full of shame
Better is the trouble that follows death than the trouble that follows shame
Do not keep your toungue 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 din't turn up when sense was being distributed
There's neiher success nor efficiency without authority and laws
Fat is not to be had without labour
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 say everything hyou want to say lest you hear something hyou would not like to hear
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
It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father was hanged
A greyhound finds food in its feet
The slow hound often has good qualities
The bird that can sing and won't sing should be made to sing
A cat between two houses, a rabbit between two holes, the two liveliest
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 poils
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
A man with a loud laugh makes truth itself seem folly Trugh is great and will win out
Even the truth may be bitter
Thre 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
You can keep away from the rogue,but you cannot keep yourself safe from the liar.
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 knows the price of everything and the value of nothing
He couldn't drag a herring off the coals
It's just a wisp in place of a brush
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
It's not worth a couckoo-spit
Better an idle house than a bad tenant
Pity him who makes his opinions a certainty
he thinks that he himself is the very stone that was hurled at the castle
He dotes on his midden 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
A kerry shower is of twenty-four hours
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
Going in is not the same as going out
A welcome is a debtor's face
What's all the world to a man when his wife is a widow
A wise head keeps a shut mouth
Everyone is wise till he speaks
Food is no more important than wisdom The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God
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 wise head on young shoulders
Wisdom is what makes a por 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
No making of a wise man
A dishonest woman can't be kept in and an honest woman won't
There is no thing wickeder than a womaan of evil temper.
A bad woman(wife) drinks a lot of her own bad butter-milk
A foolish woman knows a foolish man's faults
A whistling woman and a crowing hen will bring no luck to the house they are in
Beef to the heels like a Mullingar heifer
Eight lives for the men and nine for the women
Wherever there are women there's tlaking, and wherever there's geese there's cackling
Irishwomen have a dispensation from the pope to wear the thick ends of their legs downwards
Women are shy and shame prevents them from refusing a man.
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
Women are stronger than men, they do not die of wisdom
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
Where comes a cow the wiseman lay down(St.Colmcille), there follows a woman,and where comes a woman follows trouble
Only a fool would prefer food to a woman
Don't be ever in court or a castle wihout a woman to make your excuse
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
The yellow praiseach(kale) of the fields that brings the Meath women to harm
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
It is not the most beatuiful woman who has the most sense
A woman can beat the devil
A shrew gets her wish but suffers in the getting
Many a time the man with ten (cows has ovetaken the man with foryt(cows)
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 early riser gets through his business but not through early rising
The slow horse reaches the mill
Making the beginning is one third of the work
The quiet pigs eat all the draff
The sweat of one's brow is what burns everyone
Everyone lays a burden on the willing horse
Every little makes a nickle
Sppeed 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
The person of the greatest talk is the person of the least work
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 labour 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
The mason who strikes often is better than the one who strikes too hard
It destroys the craft not to learn it
The dog that's always on the go, is better than the one that's always curled up
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
Youth likes to wander
The growth of the gosling
Youth cannot believe
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