Irish Proverbs & Sayings

Food & Drink


Show the fatted calf but not the thing that fattened him.

Men are like bagpipes no sound comes from them until they're full

Wine reveals the truth

You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel

You never miss the water till the well has run dry.

Half a loaf is better than no bread

A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.

A little can be tasty

The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Hunger is a good sauce

Eaten bread is soon forgotten

It is better to be seeking food than to be seeking an appetite

When the stomach is full, the bones like to stretch

When the fruit is scarcest, its taste is sweetest

The full stomach does not understand the empty one

A greyhound finds food in its feet

Drunkenness and anger, 'tis said tell the truth

The well-filled belly has little understanding of the empty

Wilful waste makes woeful want