Irish Proverbs & Sayings

General


Take gifts with a sigh most men give to be paid

A turkey never voted for an early Christmas

Beauty will not make the pot boil.

The longest road out is the shortest road home.

The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune

Itıs no use boiling your cabbage twice

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

As the old cock crows the young cock learns.

Humour 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.

Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you won't see the dust on the floor.

The thing that is scarce is the most wonderful

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

It is often that a delicate colt became a competent little horse

If the knitter is weary the baby will have no new bonnet

It's for her own good that the cat purrs.

A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig.

Even a tin knocker will shine on a dirty door

Every dog is bold on its own doorstep

An old broom knows the dirty corners best

Cows far away have long horns

To the raven her own chick is white

When the sky falls we'll catch larks.

Birds of a feather flock together

One beetle recognises another

Any man can lose his hat in a fairy- wind.

It s no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking

It's difficult to choose between two blind goats.

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

Nature breaks out through the eyes of the cat

No matter how often a pitcher goes to the water it is broken in the end

A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse

What would a young cat do but eat mice?

Nature will come through the claws, and the hound will follow the hare.

Snuff at a wake is fine if there's nobody sneezing over the snuff box

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.

To every cow its calf; to every book its copy

If you want praise, die - if you want torment, marry

The one who waits the fine day, will get the fine day.

Possession satisfies

Poor men take to the sea; the rich to the mountains

Poverty creates sadness

The thief is no danger to the beggar.

Poverty is no shame.

Shame is ever a part of poverty

Pity the man who does wrong and is poor as well

Pride comes before a fall

Things may not be as they seem to be

Pride feels no pain

Pride is the author of every sin

A postponement till morning A postponement for ever.

He who is not strong must be clever

Don't throw out the dirty water until you have the clean water in

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

Praise youthfulness and it will respond to you

No dealing with a revengeful man

Those who get the name of rising early may lie all day

There is not strength until there is unity

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

Better is the trouble that follows death than the trouble that follows shame

You didn't turn up when sense was being distributed

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 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.

Never trust a spiteful man

'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

Better an idle house than a bad tenant

Pity him who makes his opinions a certainty

A shamefaced man seldom acquires wealth

A hut is a palace to a poor man

There's little value in the single cow

Wind from the east is good for neither man nor beast

The seeking for one thing will find another

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 person of the greatest talk is the person of the least work

Be there with the day and be gone with the day

Long churning makes bad butter

Scattering is easier than gathering

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

The young shed many skins

Youth likes to wander

Many a happy colt makes a fine horse

Youth cannot believe

Every dog is bold on its own doorstep